Indonesia’s Sri Mulyani named the best finance minister in Asia

Definitely near the top of the list of Indonesian political shockers last year (and there were obviously quite a few) was the return of Sri Mulyani Indrawati as Indonesia’s minister of finance. After serving as the country’s senior economist from 2005-2010 under former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, few expected her to leave her post as Managing Director at the World Bank (the most senior position ever held by a woman at the powerful organization) to come back to Indonesia to once again steer the country’s economy.

It’s still not exactly clear how President Joko Widodo convinced Sri Mulyani to return during his last cabinet reshuffle in July, but it’s clear she came back on a mission. In her first eight months back in office, she has accomplished a remarkable amount on Indonesia’s economic front and in recognition of that, the woman who was ranked 37th on Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women in the world last year was recently named the best finance minister in Asia by FinanceAsia magazine.

The Hong Kong-based financial journal, in its article explaining why Sri Mulyani was their top pick, noted that she has been particularly successful in improving the Indonesian government’s revenue streams, which had failed to hit the mark for the last seven years.

Although she did not actually start the country’s tax amnesty program, there’s no doubt that it was her return that made it successful, with her promises to “not play around” and her threats of incriminating evidence ready to be used against wealthy Indonesians that gave the policy the teeth needed to get the country’s elite on board.

But she’s done much more than making the controversial tax amnesty work – Sri Mulyani has also pushed for crucial spending cuts, narrowing the country’s deficit while also overseeing a period of increased consumer spending and infrastructure investment.

Explaining why Sri Mulyani took the top spot, FinanceAsia editors wrote, “Indrawati has not been in office long, but she has returned to the job with a stellar reputation, an indomitable work ethic, and a commitment to reform that will make her few friends among Indonesia’s moneyed class.”

Second place in FinanceAsia’s ranking of the region’s best finance ministers went to India’s Arum Jaitley followed by Yoo Il-ho of South Korean and the Philippines Carlos ‘Sonny’ Dominguez.