Indonesia's economy grew more slowly than expected in the third quarter, dimming hopes that a high-profile drive to boost Southeast Asia's biggest economy will hit its GDP target this year. The economy expanded 5.06 percent in the July-September period from a year ago, a little below market expectations and off the government's target of 5.2 percent growth for 2017.
President Joko Widodo came to power in 2014 on a pledge to boost annual growth to seven percent annually but his government has struggled to rev up the commodities-driven economy. Growth has remained stuck at around five percent for the past three years and the latest result was unlikely to signify the start of a sustained recovery, according to London-based consultancy Capital Economics.
"Given the mounting headwinds facing the economy, we expect growth to come in at around five percent over the next couple of years," Gareth Leather, a senior Asia economist at the research house, said in a commentary. The government's statistics agency pointed to an expansion in the services sector as well as exports, which rose 17.27 percent year-on-year.
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