RI'S FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES NOW TOTAL US$78 BILLION

Jakarta, August 16 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves have risen to US$78 billion in 2010 following the country's economic growth in the past ten years from minus 13 percent in 1998 to six percent in 2008, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

He made the statement when presenting the draft national budget for 2011 and economic notes to the parliament here on Monday.

"Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves now total more than US$78 billion (and) the rupiah remains stable, the poverty rate is down and the country's credit rating improving," he said in his speech to mark the country's 65th independence anniversary.

"The process of improvement is continuing. The country's non-oil/non-gas exports have surpassed US$100 billion, the national budget totals more than Rp1,000 trillion and the loan-to-gross domestic growth ratio has dropped significantly to 27.8 percent which is the lowest in Indonesian history," he said.

The economic achievements, he said, were made due to strong commitment to corruption eradication and the massive transformation the country has undergone to make it more whole, secure, economically stronger, more peaceful, dynamic and democratic.

He said while the world was facing a big financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 and its economy was contracting, Indonesia remained growing six percent in 2008 and 4.5 percent in 2009.

"It was the third highest growth rate after China's and India's," he said.

Indonesia, he said, was now targeting a 7.0 to 7.7 percent growth in 2014. "Acceleration of economic growth is expected to be able to create more employment and reduce unemployment," he said.

President Yudhoyono hoped that in the next four years 10.7 million new jobs would be created to reduce the poverty rate to 8.0 to 10 percent by the end of 2014.

With regard to expanding and deepening the coverage of development in the fields of welfare, he said, pro-people programs such as the National Self-Reliant Community Empowerment Program (PNPM) and the Smallholder Business Credit (KUR) scheme would continue to be carried out with more funds and wider coverage.

"Through sustainable budgeting we will provide up to Rp100 trillion for the next five years unitl 2014 or Rp20 trillion a year for the KUR scheme. We hope the policy will become a breakthrough that will fundamentally reduce poverty," he said.***1***
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