Indonesia′s economy will start to open and recover from the COVID-19 crisis in August this year, the World Bank′s Country Director for Indonesia, Satu Kahkonen, stated on Thursday.

"Indonesia′s economy will fully reopen in August (this year)," Kahkonen remarked at the virtual event of the World Bank′s Indonesia Economic Prospects (IEP) July 2020 edition.

It is one of the three assumptions that Kahkonen noted regarding World Bank′s projection for Indonesia′s economic growth this year, with forecasted zero-percent growth.

The World Bank also delivered its assumption of the global economy contracting 5.2 percent in 2020, thereby mirroring the worst recession since the World War II as well as three-folds worse than the 2009 recession.

In her further note, Kahkonen highlighted the World Bank’s assumption of Indonesia not experiencing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, though adding that "if any of these assumptions change, then the forecast will also change."

The World Bank has forecast the East Asia and Pacific region to experience some sharp decline to half percent in 2020, from nearly six percent in 2019, as most countries impose lockdown measures to control the outbreak.

"Moreover, economic disruptions have been most severe in countries, with larger domestic breakouts and those that rely heavily on a global trade, tourism, commodity exports, and external financing," Kahkonen added.