Indonesia set to announce third stimulus package

JAKARTA: Indonesia will announce a third round of stimulus measures on Wednesday aimed at supporting consumption and reviving economic growth, the chief economics minister said.

The government already rolled out two sets of measures last month as part of a strategy to re-energise South-East Asia's largest economy after growth in the second quarter slowed to the 4.67%, the slowest pace in six years.

The earlier measures included steps to attract more investment, streamline regulations and stabilise the shaky rupiah currency.

Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Economics, told reporters that the announcement could come later in the day at 1000 GMT.

Last week, President Joko Widodo ordered his cabinet ministers to review fuel prices and banks' lending rates and see if the two can be lowered to help boost purchasing power.

Hurt by low commodity prices and soaring inflation, Indonesians are cutting back on spending. Consumers turned pessimistic about the economy for the first time since 2010, Bank Indonesia said in a survey in September.

Private consumption accounts for more than half of Indonesia's gross domestic product.

Agrarian Minister Ferry Mursyidan Baldan on Wednesday said he will tweak rules on land permits for small vendors to help small businessmen get loans from banks.

Widodo also said this week that the government will change the mechanism to set minimum wages to give more certainty for both the employers and employee. One option being considered was to set a minimum wage growth formula every five years instead of annually.

It was not immediately clear if those changes will be part of Wednesday's announcement. - Reuters