Economy to grow 5% next year: President

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Monday the economy will grow at 5% next year after another round of stimulus spending worth more than $6 billion, Agence France-Presse reported.

Dr. Yudhoyono told a plenary session of the House of Representatives that the deficit would stand at 1.6% of GDP for 2010 to cover the additional financial injection, compared to the 2.5% of GDP target for 2009.

He said the government would spend around Rp61.2 trillion ($6.1 billion) to boost the economy next year, slightly less than the Rp70 trillion allocated this year.

Further stimulus spending would help achieve 5% growth in 2010, which is at the lower end of previous government forecasts.

Dr. Yudhoyono said Indonesia was in good shape to weather the global economic storm.

"As a country with an open economy, Indonesia certainly cannot disengage itself from the impact of the downturn of global economic activities," he said.

“Nevertheless, due to rapid and appropriate action, Indonesia has been relatively speaking far better off than other countries,” he said.