Although overshadowed by the news of the devastating earthquake in Lombok, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) released the official Q2-2018 gross domestic product (GDP) growth figure of Indonesia earlier today. The economy of Indonesia expanded 5.27 percent year-on-year (y/y) in the second quarter of 2018. This growth pace exceeds our expectations although it is not enough to necessitate a revision to our full-year 2018 GDP growth forecast of 5.2 percent (y/y).

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Only a few months after the Indonesian government had imposed a price cap on mandatory sales of local coal to Indonesia's state-owned electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) under the domestic market obligation (DMO) scheme, the government now plans to revise this regulation. Coming Tuesday (31/07) a high-level meeting is to take place where decisions will be taken.

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Traditionally the Indonesian government wants to raise spending on social assistance programs when legislative and presidential elections are around the corner in an attempt to become more popular, hence attract more votes. The government under the leadership of Joko Widodo also plans to use this strategy.

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Poverty in Indonesia declined to the lowest level ever in March 2018 (Indonesia's Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, releases poverty figures twice per year, covering the months March and September). Based on the latest data, Indonesia's relative poverty figure fell to 9.82 percent of the total population. Thus, 25.95 million Indonesians are now categorized as poor.

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