Indonesia GDP Growth Fastest in ASEAN

Surprising to see Indonesia is less affected than Singapore (for the first time) by the global economy crisis. Compare this to 1998 economy crisis–which brought down Suharto-- in which Indonesia was the worst hit:

Indonesia’s economy probably grew at the fastest pace in Southeast Asia last quarter as buoyant local spending helped the nation fend off the global recession.

Gross domestic product expanded 4.3 percent in the three months to March 31 from a year earlier, compared with a 5.2 percent gain in the previous quarter, according to the median forecast of 19 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The statistics bureau is due to release the data in Jakarta today.

Indonesia has been less affected than its neighbors by the worst global slump since World War II as it isn’t as reliant on exports as other Asian nations. Singapore’s economy shrank the most since at least 1975 in the first quarter and Thailand’s Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij estimates a “pretty bloody” GDP contraction of as much as 6 percent in the same period.