President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he was optimistic that the country`s economic growth this year would reach 4.3 percent as projected in the state budget.

The president expressed the optimism when he met with about 200 Malaysian business executives at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLCC) here on Wednesday.

“Indonesia is now intensifying its development and minimizing the impact of the economic crisis. We hope this year its economic growth would reach 4.3 percent. Admittedly it is much lower than the growth we had before the economic crisis but we are convinced it would continue to increase by up to 7 percent in 2014,” the president said.

The president believed that with a just and distributable economic growth, the development carried out by the government would be able to reduce poverty and unemployment, and improve the people`s life.

In order to achieve the target, he said, the government would reinforce partnership with domestic and foreign private businesses, particularly with the aim of meeting the investment need of US$150-US$200 billion per year.

Yudhoyono offered Malaysian businesses a number of projects, among others those in he sectors of agriculture, fertilizer and sugarmills, power plants and manufacturing industries.

“I am inviting Malaysian investors to cooperate in investment on the revitalization of agricultural industries, sugar mills and fertilizer factories as well as in the manufacturing sector,” the president said.

Source: Antara