A man passes in front of a closed store at Pasar Baru market, Jakarta, Indonesia on April 1, 2020. Indonesia cut economic growth prediction for this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread in the country. The economic growth is estimated at 2.3 percent this year, lower than the government's scenario of over 4 percent, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Veri Sanovri)
JAKARTA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia cut economic growth prediction for this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread in the country.
The economic growth is estimated at 2.3 percent this year, lower than the government's scenario of over 4 percent, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Wednesday.
"Based on assessment, the economic growth will decelerate to 2.3 percent. Under the worst scenario, the economy may slow down to minus 0.4 percent," she said.
Indonesian economy grew 5.02 percent last year.
The coronavirus outbreak has led the government to add more economic stimulus package and widened the national development budget deficit to 5.07 percent of GDP for three years, starting from this year, according to Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
A 25-billion-U.S. dollar additional fund will be allocated to fight the virus outbreak, he added.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dragged down Indonesia's exports and imports of capital goods and raw materials, and weakened economic activities.
