Sri Mulyani: G20 Will Discuss Joint Exit Policy from the Covid-19 Pandemic

JAKARTADAILY.ID – The Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia Sri Mulyani Indrawati explained that one of the important meetings in the G20 Presidency in Indonesia in 2022 was the discussion of the Exit Policy from the extraordinary policies that were made to deal with the Covid-19 Pandemic two years ago.

All countries will begin to make adjustments in restoring their respective State Revenue and Expenditure Budgets or APBN.

Without an exit policy, unexpected excesses will appear. One of these excesses is the high demand that is not accompanied by a recovery on the supply side. The supply side did not immediately recover due to various constraints.

"Now, for example, in the United States, when the economy begins to move, the population has started to do a lot of activities and consumption has increased. However, on the other hand, the workforce is already comfortable at home. So when imported goods enter the port, no one will carry them. high inflation," she said when speaking at the 2022 BNI Business Meeting in Jakarta, last weekend.

Also Read: Sri Mulyani: Cigarettes Are Making Indonesians Poorer

For this reason, she emphasized, when the state's intervention in the economy is reduced, the private sector should not keep pace with it. Supposedly, when the state budget is withdrawn, the business sector should start running its business more quickly.

Sri Mulyani gave tips to keep the economy running amidst the still-high pandemic. Vigilance against Covid-19 must be in line with economic optimism.

"Alert and Optimistic in one breath. Be flexible but don't lose focus," she said.

Also Read: WIR Group Will Present Indonesian Version of Metaverse at G20 Summit

Sri Mulyani added that the government has tried to manage the function of the State Budget to prevent the adverse effects of the pandemic and make the economy move more efficiently. The fiscal deficit is quite reasonable compared to other countries, which can reach around 20% of the GDP of countries such as India and Brazil. Meanwhile, Indonesia can keep its deficit level lower with a faster economic recovery.

"This is the time for all corporations, including banks to come back out and improve economic performance. The state budget is slowly retreating to restore its condition. The government is preparing an exit policy and together and leaving the extraordinary policy for the past 2 years. If the government and the business world work together to restore the economy, it is in line with the mission of the G20 Indonesia Presidency, namely, Recover Stronger, Recover Together," she said.

Also Read: PLN Prepares Ultra-Fast Charging Stations for Electric Cars That Will Be Used During G20 in Bali

On this occasion, BNI's President Director Royke Tumilaar said that efforts to improve credit quality were carried out very well. The ratio of non-performing loans was at 3.7% and loan at risk was at 23% at the end of last year, improving compared to the previous year, although it had not returned to its pre-pandemic position.

However, the NPL and LaR show that there is still a lot of room open for BNI to continue to grow. "The improvement in NPL and LaR shows that there is still room for continued growth," he said.