Banten's Third-Quarter Growth Expected To reach 5.49 Pct

Serang, Banten, Aug 21 (Antara) - Banten province`s economy is expected to grow slightly to 5.19-5.49 percent in the third quarter from 5.28 percent in the second quarter, fueled chiefly by household consumption, noted the Bank Indonesia (BI) office in Banten. Household consumption will increase due to payments of Idul Fitri holiday allowances and civil servants` 13th salaries, Budiharto Setyawan, the head of the BI office in Banten stated here on Thursday. Several elements indicated signs of increased consumption, he stated, adding that the results of other consumer surveys such as job opportunity index and consumer income index also showed an upward trend. He forecast that investment growth will remain stable. However, the results of consumer surveys suggested that durable goods consumption was on the rise, thereby indicating an increase in investment. Meanwhile, government capital spending, which remained low until the quarter ended on June 30, 2014, was expected to increase in the third quarter, he pointed out. "After all, the upward trend of lending rates and the weakening rupiah may slow down investment growth," he affirmed. On the supply side, he noted that high consumption will help to improve the performance of the trade, hotel, and restaurant sectors.