Indonesia Economy Accelerates

The Wall Street Journal, By FARIDA HUSNA and I MADE SENTANA

JAKARTA -- Indonesia's pace of economic expansion accelerated in the third quarter, bringing the country closer to achieving the government's growth target of 4.3% this year.

Southeast Asia's largest economy grew 4.2% from a year earlier during the July-September period, the official Central Statistics Agency said Tuesday, compared with 4.0% growth in the second quarter, thanks to increased spending in consumption and investment.

The economy expanded 3.9% compared with the previous quarter, accelerating from 2.3% in the April-June period.

The median forecast of 11 regional economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires was for growth of 4.1% from a year earlier, while the median estimate of seven economists was for 3.9% expansion from the earlier three months.

The agency said that government spending rose 10.2% on year, household consumption increased 4.8% and investment spending gained 4.0%.

Write to Farida Husna at farida.husna@dowjones.com and I Made Sentana at i-made.sentana@dowjones.com