Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Coordinating Minister for Economy Darmin Nasution predicted the country would chalk up a higher economic growth in the second quarter of this year.

Darmin said the countrys economic growth in the April June period would be higher than Q1 growth of 4.92 percent.

He said increase in government spending and harvest time which is taking in the April-June period would boost the economic growth.

He said in the first quarter the economy grew slower than 5.04 percent in the previous quarter or the last quarter of 2015, but was still higher than 4.73 percent year-on-year.

He said a number of improvements have been made by the government including with the issuance of 12 economic policy packages.

The first to 12th economic policy packages could strengthen the countrys economic competitiveness and improve business climate to be less vulnerable to global pressures, her said.

Earlier, head of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) Suryamin said government capital spending in investment was one of the growth drivers in the first quarter of 2016.

Suryamin said higher capital spending in the first three months of 2016 , contribute to a 5.57 percent growth of components of gross fixed capital formation (PMTB).

The economic growth in the first quarter of 2016 was also attributable to a 6.38 percent growth of consumption by non profit institutions serving households (LNPRT) and 2.93 percent growth of government consumption, he said.

National congresses and national meetings of a number of political parties and other mass organizations contributed to increase in consumption by LNPRT, he said. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016