Indonesia aims to step up its economic growth

Indonesia's economic growth has lagged that of neighbours such as the Philippines and Vietnam. But soaring commodity prices could change that.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo
Under Joko Widodo, Indonesia is embracing the digital economy
(Image credit: © The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)

Indonesia “punches notably below its weight”, says Chris Anstey on Bloomberg. The country has the world’s fourth-biggest population and sits on “geographically pivotal” maritime trade routes between the Pacific and Indian oceans. Yet growth has lagged that of neighbours such as the Philippines and Vietnam over the last ten years, while per capita GDP “is little more than half that of Thailand’s”.

But soaring commodity prices may change the picture, says Barclays. Indonesia is running “large trade surpluses in palm oil, natural gas, coal, copper, rubber, iron and steel”. Higher export earnings have boosted the rupiah, which has been the best-performing Asian currency against the dollar over the past two years.

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.