Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, on Tuesday, said he had signed a regulation to let the government significantly raise spending in its fight against the coronavirus and widen the 2020 budget deficit to 5.07 per cent of GDP.
Widodo also announced a national public health emergency and said the government would spend 405.1 trillion rupiahs ($24.85 billion) more on COVID-19 response, social welfare programmes and economic stimulus, including a three percentage point cut in corporate tax rates to 22 per cent.
The emergency regulation is effective immediately, but parliament must approve it to turn it into law in its current session. (Reuters)