Indonesia's 2017 Budget Deficit Was Smaller Than Target

The Indonesian government's budget deficit was equal to 2.6% of gross domestic product, lower than the target of 2.9% of GDP.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said Tuesday government spending reached more than 2 trillion rupiah, or 94% of its target, which was 7.4% higher than in 2016.

The spending included building 794 kilometers of roads, 9,072 meters of bridges and 11 airports across the country, Ms. Mulyani said.

Jakarta collected 1,339 trillion rupiah in tax payments last year, or 91% of its target. That was up 4.3% from a year earlier.

"The improvement story continued in 2017," she said.

She said the economy likely grew 5.05% last year, lower than the government's target of 5.2%.

Write to I Made Sentana at i-made.sentana@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 02, 2018 03:19 ET (08:19 GMT)