Search An artisan makes ornamental dowry from colored papers in Malang, East Java, on Saturday. (Antara Photo/Ari Bowo Sucipto) Gov't Plots Rebound After Covid-19 Sends Indonesia Into First Recession in 22 Years BY :NASORI, ARNOLDUS KRISTIANUS, TRIYAN PANGASTUTI FEBRUARY 06, 2021 Jakarta. The government is confident Indonesia's economy would return to an expansion mode in the first quarter this year, banking on the government spending increase, manufacturing growth, and exports, after a persistent rise of the Covid-19 cases prevent the country from escaping its first recession in 22 years last year. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Friday that Indonesia's economy shrunk by 2.07 percent in 2020, compared to a 5 percent expansion in 2019. The largest economy in Southeast Asia declined by 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter from the same quarter a year earlier.