Desperate for growth, Indonesia unveils raft of micro-measures

Jakarta

WITH his biggest reforms making little headway in a nation fraught with corruption and political jockeying, President Joko Widodo has turned to tweaks in taxes and regulation in an effort to revive waning Indonesian growth.

Yet without larger changes - such as kick-starting long-stalled infrastructure projects and cleaning up an inefficient bureaucracy - the raft of micro-measures may do little to strengthen the economy. The nation with the world's fourth-biggest population needs all the momentum it can get, as emerging markets gird for a spate of volatility when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.

Mr Widodo is for now putting his hopes on steps such as removing the luxury tax on golf clubs and horse saddles, and ordering toll road operators to cut tariffs for Eid al-Fitr. Other features of an emerging stimulus plan include shifting funds into sta…