Indonesian parliament body approves govt's US$180b budget for 2020

[JAKARTA] The Indonesian parliament's budgetary committee on Thursday approved President Joko Widodo's plans to spend US$180 billion in 2020, in a budget with an estimated fiscal deficit of 1.8 per cent of GDP, its chairman Kahar Muzakir said.

The government will issue 389.3 trillion rupiah (S$38.1 billion) of bonds, not including buybacks and short term notes for cash management, to fund the budget deficit next year.

The committee had already approved 5.3 per cent as the 2020 economic growth target earlier this month.

The approval will be brought to parliament's plenary session on Tuesday. The committee's endorsement is usually further approved. 

REUTERS