JAKARTA -- Indonesia’s economy grew less than analysts expected in the first quarter, a setback to President Joko Widodo’s efforts to rejuvenate growth on the back of increased government spending.
Gross domestic product grew 4.92% in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2015, down from a previously reported 5.04% in the fourth quarter, the statistics bureau said in Jakarta on Wednesday. That compares with the median estimate of 5.07% in a Bloomberg survey of 15 economists. Southeast Asia's largest economy grew 4.79% last year, its slowest pace since 2009.
Mr Widodo, better known as Jokowi, took office in October 2014, vowing to make it easier to do business, implement economic reforms and boost spending on infrastructure to reboot an economy hard hit by collapsing exports of the country's commodities like palm oil and coal.
The government is forecasting growth of 5.3% this year on the back of continuing reforms and Bank Indonesia's three interest rate cuts so far this year.