VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Erick Thohir. (ANTARA)

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir has forecast Indonesia’s economy to fully recover in the first quarter of 2022 akin to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

"We could probably witness a full economic recovery by the first quarter of 2022 similar to that in 2019," Thohir stated in Jakarta on Thursday while adding that the figure could only reach 40-60 percent by the end of this year, while in 2021, it might grow to above 75 percent.

"One aspect that we should all agree upon is that COVID-19 has affected the health and economic sectors, thereby necessitating the handling of both in parallel," he emphasized.

The Ministry of SOEs will coordinate with the Ministry of Health as well as other ministries and governmental institutions, including the local and regional governments, to support economic revival and boost the performance of SOEs’ businesses, in particular.

The performance of SOEs’ businesses depends on the type of business since several enterprises have shifted their business patterns to adapt to the new normal scenario.

"I am highly optimistic of the performance of SOEs always being maintained, particularly in facing this COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, they could achieve some breakthroughs to ease the burden on our people and the government," Thohir stated. (ANTARA)