Q3 ECONOMIC GROWTH CAN BE BETTER: ECONOMIST

Jakarta, May 22 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's economic growth in the third and fourth quarters of this year would be better than in the previous quarters, economic observer Faisal Basri said.

"I am optimistic that the economy would grow better. After all, the consumers confidence index in the second quarter increased from 102 to 103," he said here on Friday.

He said that the increase in the consumers confidence index indicated that consumers were now ready to spend more. He said that in the first quarter there could be small growth slow down. This condition would continue to take place until the end of the year.

"Whoever is elected president there would be a kind of euphoria and this would create new hope," he said.

He said that something miracle had happened after Indonesia experienced difficulties in its economic growth condition.

"Looking at the first quarter there was a miracle. It would be difficult to believe where growth was slowing down while the ratio of unemployment also dropped," he said.

Faisal said he had no doubts about the government's data. But when the worker absorption capacity of the real sector was smaller, workers even moved to the formal sector.

"Our economic growth has been declining but it would constitute the smallest decline if the five percent growth target this year is achieved," he added.

Indonesia's economic growth happened to drop from 6.1 percent to five percent, and finally to the 4.4 percent position.

"It is expected that the decline would stop in the second and third quarters and in the fourth quarter it would rebound," the economist said.

He compared the drop of the economic growth of China and of Indonesia, saying China's economic growth fell more steeply. China's economic growth dropped from 9 percent in 2008 to 6.1 percent in 2009 while India from 8 percent to 5.3 percent.***2***