Indonesian minister upbeat on economy

Speaking at a lecture, part of the SMU Presidential Distinguished Lecturer Series, on Wednesday, Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan was optimistic about his country’s economic prospects, citing its fiscal stability, strong domestic demand and youthful workforce as among the reasons for optimism. Another positive trend was that investments were increasingly flowing from the relatively developed Java to the less developed provinces. However, he acknowledged that the government would still need to tackle challenges like the "hopelessly antiquated infrastructure”, lack of skilled labour and corruption.