Indonesian economy grew 5.01% in 2014, slowest in 5 years: govt

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's economy grew 5.01 per cent in 2014, the slowest rate of expansion for five years, the official statistics agency said on Thursday.

The figure compares with 5.78 per cent in 2013 and is the weakest rate since 2009, at the height of the global financial crisis.

Southeast Asia's biggest economy has been slowing in recent years as the price of its key commodity exports drop owing to weakening demand from regional powerhouse China and other major markets.

Exports remained subdued in 2014, while political uncertainty also slowed foreign investment as firms waited to see who won the country's presidential election.

However, the victory of reformist and former businessman, Joko Widodo, in the presidential elections has raised hopes that the economy's fortunes will pick up in 2015.

AFP