REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was named the best finance minister in Asia and the Pacific for 2018 by Hong Kong-based financial magazine FinanceAsia. She got the award for the second time in a row.
FinanceAsia views Mulyani as being successful in driving Indonesia's economy in a better direction, the Finance Ministry noted in a statement, here, Monday.
Mulyani is believed to have successfully capitalized on global economic progress to reform the financial structure in 2017, so it can survive when interest rates rise in the United States.
FinanceAsia applauded Mulyani's "laser-like focus" in increasing tax revenue, which sets her apart from her counterparts across Asia. Her focus on increasing tax revenue was aimed at reducing dependency on commodity sales that often fluctuate depending on the global prices.
The magazine believes that Mulyani had managed to maintain stability in state expenditure as is apparent from the lower budget deficit of 2.5 percent as compared to the initial projection of 2.9 percent.
The government is also viewed as being successful in maintaining the stability of inflation and the rupiah exchange rate. Indonesia's gross domestic product reached US$1 trillion for the first time, with stable economic growth of above five percent.
FinanceAsia also announced ratings for other finance ministers in the Asia Pacific. The second rank was awarded to Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, followed by Philippine Finance Minister Carlos Dominguez coming third, India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ranking fourth, and Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie coming fifth.
The sixth rank was awarded to South Korea's Minister of Strategy and Finance Kim Dong Yeon, Australian Finance Minister Scott Morrison standing seventh, Thai Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong ranked eighth, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso coming ninth, followed by Hong Kong's Finance Minister Paul Chan.
The 11th and 12th ranks were respectively awarded to Malaysian Minister of Finance Najib Razak and Finance Minister of Taiwan Sheu Yu-jer.
Minister Mulyani said she received the award owing to the leadership of President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who always push every minister to work hard to improve the people's welfare.
The award is also a form of recognition for the government's hard work in the economic field, supported by cooperation between the Finance Ministry and other stakeholders.
"The state's finance is a means to materialize the ideals of Indonesia's independence, which is to realize a prosperous and just community and a civilized state with dignity," she noted.
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