“By the end of last year, Indonesia’s per capita GDP was about US$4,000… if we were to extrapolate the economy until the end of SBY’s (referring to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) term in 22 Oct next year, there is a good chance it would be about US$5,000. So that would mean a quadrupling of the per capita GDP of Indonesia within a ten-year period ever since he took over from (former President) Megawati,” His Excellency Gita Wirjawan, Minister of Trade, Republic of Indonesia, told a packed audience of 300 on 23 January at SMU’s first Presidential Distinguished Lecturer Series (PDLS) for 2013.

Affectionately called Pak Gita, the man charged with powering a thriving Indonesia – the world’s largest archipelagic state of some 17,000 islands with a population of 240 million and Southeast Asia’s largest economy, ahead amid an uncertain global economic climate, delivered an insightful and incisive lecture on “The New Story of Indonesia” at SMU’s Mochtar Riady Auditorium. 

The Indonesian Trade Minister is the 10^th distinguished speaker for the PDLS from its inception in 2005, an annual event which features internationally-eminent academics and scholars, as well as outstanding business or government leaders who have achieved distinction in their respective fields.  Its purpose is to stimulate intellectual discourse among the SMU community comprising students, alumni, faculty and staff, about issues of significance and interest.  Past luminaries invited to speak at PDLS include Dr Donald K Emmerson, Director of Southeast Asia Forum, Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Centre, Stanford University; Mr László Sólyom, former President of the Republic of Hungary; and Dr Donald G Stein, Asa Griggs Candler Professor in Emergency Medicine & Neurology, Emory University.

As one of few emerging markets boasting vast natural resources and a consumer-driven economy, with domestic consumption contributing to some 60 per cent of its GDP, Indonesia was relatively unscathed by the global financial meltdown in late 2008 and the country registered impressive growth of 6.46 per cent and 6.3 per cent in 2011 and 2012, respectively.  Despite turbulence in the global conditions which besets most economies in the world, investment bank Goldman Sachs has assessed Indonesia, together with three other countries – Mexico, South Korea and Turkey, to possess the greatest potential for economic success this century.

In his talk, Minister Wirjawan expressed great optimism about Indonesia’s economic outlook.  Highlighting the fact that the country has continued to pull in international investors – a record US$24.6 billion (S$30.2 billion) in foreign direct investment (FDI) was committed in 2012, up 23 per cent from 2011, he cited fiscal stability, strong domestic demand and a youthful workforce with rising purchasing power as among the reasons for his upbeat assessment.  He was confident that the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) would likely “stay on the upward trajectory” and that “fiscal prudence” would help improve the business climate and counter the impact of the European debt crisis on exports.  Indonesia might also trim its debt to less than 20% of GDP in the next three years, from 24.5 per cent in 2012, as an added measure to propel its already-buoyant economy.  Minister Wirjawan acknowledged, and was thankful for, Singapore’s contribution in Indonesia’s sustained growth in recent years.  Singapore was Indonesia’s top foreign investor, with US$4.9 billion pumped in last year.

As Indonesia approaches the 2014 elections, Minister Wirjawan said that next year would be a “defining moment” for the country and its people.  He was heartened that there is now a growing number of Indonesians who see prospects for Indonesia “as a glass half-full”. Commenting on Indonesia’s outlook at the conclusion of his captivating lecture, he quipped, “Basically, Indonesia has been able to afford to buy bread. In the future, we just gotta make sure we can put something in between.”

Photo highlights

[Photo:  Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan speaking to a packed audience at the SMU Presidential Distinguished Lecturer Series event.]