Indonesia's recovery hopes intact despite dismal Q1

Jakarta

INDONESIA reported lower-than-expected growth in the first quarter, but many economists still expect enough of a rebound this year for the country to avoid further slowing and grow more than 5 per cent in 2016.

The statistics bureau said on Wednesday that South-east Asia's largest economy expanded an annual 4.92 per cent in the January-March quarter, below the median 5.05 per cent in a Reuters poll and the October-December pace of 5.04 per cent.

Growth weakened for the fifth straight year in 2015, to 4.8 per cent, as poor commodity prices, contracting exports, tepid investment and waning consumptio…