Foreign investors may also help by buying troubled banks or government firms being privatized. Add to that the enormous spending needed to provide social safety-nets and boost domestic demand. Foodstall owner Maryamah is happy that sugar now costs 3,500 rupiah, less than half the price last year. In the end, however, people and firms need to produce and sell for growth to happen. Non-petroleum exports are also up as trade financing has become less of a hassle.
Most economists expect non-oil manufactured exports to pick up more dramatically.
Agriculture is also rebounding. As production rises, so will incomes. Those producing coffee, rubber or palm oil for export benefit from the weak rupiah. Consumption, once damped by political fears, is also picking up. Political stability may also lure business people and investment, including ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs.