In a statement on Thursday, Indonesia’s finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawat said, Jakarta has signed a $1.09 billion (A$1.5 billion) loan agreement with the Australian government. The money will be used to help fight the coronavirus-induced COVID-19 pandemic which emerged from Wuhan, China.

“Everybody, all parts of society, are hurt by this COVID-19 (outbreak) and the role of fiscal policy together with other instruments, like monetary policy, is very critical during this difficult time,” Sri Mulyani .

Indonesia has seen the highest number of coronavirus infections and fatalities in Southeast Asia, with 448,118 cases and 14,836 deaths as of Wednesday, according to its COVID-19 task force.

($1 = 1.3734 Australian dollars)

Categories: Creativity, Economy & Finance, Entrepreneurship, Geopolitics, HR & Organization, Regulations & Legal, Strategy, Sustainability

Tags: Australia, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID-19 task force, COVID19, deaths, fatalities, fight, finance, finance minister, fiscal policy, Indonesia, infections, Jakarta, loan agreement, mitigate, monetary policy, Mulyani Indrawat, pandemic, Southeast Asia, Wuhan