Jokowi's 7% growth pledge looks out of reach for now

Jakarta

INDONESIA posted slower economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 and looks set to struggle to get the rate much above 5 per cent this year, especially with the central bank unlikely to be able to keep cutting interest rates to spur lending.

South-east Asia's biggest economy has been hampered by weaker growth in some of its main trading partners, tepid foreign direct investment and bottlenecks building infrastructure, ensuring that President Joko Widodo's pledge of reviving growth to 7 per cent appears well out of reach for now.