JAKARTA - INDONESIA will announce a 12.5 trillion rupiah (S$1.63 billion) package early next year to help Southeast Asia's biggest economy withstand a slowdown in global economic growth, the finance minister said on Tuesday.

The minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, told reporters that economic growth in 2009, an election year in Indonesia, would be 5 per cent, the mid-point of the government's previous forecast range.

That would represent a slowdown from 2007, when the economy expanded at a decade-high 6.3 per cent, and from 2008, when the government expects growth of about 6 per cent.

'The threat in 2009 will be lay-offs. So we will see the impact on industries,' she said, adding that the government package would take into account ways to 'compensate the industries which have been hard-hit by the global crisis.' She said unemployment was currently around 8.5 per cent.

Governments worldwide have announced various measures to try to spur growth in their economies. After several rounds of rate cuts, governments have announced spending packages to cushion their economies from the worst global downturn in decades.

Indonesia said last month it would spend about US$9 billion on infrastructure projects to boost growth. Analysts have said the economy needs to grow around 6 per cent to create new jobs for a rapidly growing population in the world's fourth-most populous country.

'Investment activity in various projects will still continue, because there is no reason for a sudden shutdown,' said Indrawati, adding that loan growth is 'still strong.' Ms Indrawati said inflation next year would be about 6 per cent, at the lower end of the government's forecast range, due to falling commodity prices.