Jakarta’s economy grew at an accelerated month-on-month pace in the last quarter of 2012, as Governor Joko Widodo took office and growth was spurred by spending among residents and the government, a statistics agency official said on Tuesday.
The capital’s economy grew 2 percent in the last quarter, according to Nyoto Widodo, the head of the Jakarta Central Statistics Agency. The figured topped the 1.8 percent quarter-on-quarter growth during the same period in 2011.
The capital continued to be an economic engine in the last few months of 2012 as consumption and government spending offset slower growth nationwide, Nyoto said.
“Spending is one of the main factors of Jakarta’s economic growth,” he said.
Indonesia’s economic growth rate slowed to 6.23 percent year-on-year in 2012 as exports declined amid weakened global demand. Jakarta’s regional economic growth followed the trend, slowing from 6.7 percent in 2011 to 6.5 percent in 2012.
Still, Nyoto credited the small increase in the quarterly growth rate to the efforts of Joko since he took office on Oct. 15, 2012.
“After leading the city for three months, the new governor and deputy governor have made the city’s economy grow,” he said.
Jakarta’s business sector recorded higher growth across the board, with the transportation and communications fields leading the charge with 4.4 percent growth. The trading, hotel and restaurant sectors grew 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter.
The service industry grew 2.4 percent, Nyoto said.
Government spending increased 23 percent in the fourth quarter, he said, and exports grew 3.1 percent.
