Jakarta. Indonesia's unaudited 2017 budget deficit was clocked at 2.57 percent of its gross domestic product, broadly in line with expectations, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Tuesday (02/01).

The government had earlier estimated the deficit to be around 2.6 percent. This compared to the official target of 2.92 percent announced in July as part of the 2017 budget plan.

In 2016, Indonesia's audited budget deficit was at 2.49 percent of GDP.

Sri said the country's revenue had improved last year from 2016, which helped keep the deficit under control.

"Tax collection was at 91 percent of the target, compared to the previous two years which were both at around 83 percent," she told a news conference in Jakarta.

The government set a total revenue target of Rp 1,736.1 trillion ($128.3 billion) in 2017, including Rp 1,472.7 trillion from taxes. Sri said the government reached 95.4 percent of that target.

Government spending totaled Rp 2,001.6 trillion last year, 93.8 percent of the target.

The minister said the government will keep paying for more infrastructure projects — a key program of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration — even though last year's expenditure was below target.

The government's capital spending grew 23 percent in 2017, Sri also said.

"This [growth] showed that government spending supports economic growth and that we are committed to infrastructure development," she said.

The government estimated real economic growth of 5.05 percent in 2017, lower than its target of 5.2 percent.

The economy grew 5.02 percent in 2016.

The government will release its audited 2017 financial performance results later this year.

Reuters