Minister of Finance Purbaya is confident that the rupiah can strengthen to Rp15,000 per US dollar.

JAKARTA - Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa believes that Bank Indonesia (BI) has the opportunity to encourage the rupiah exchange rate to strengthen to the level of Rp15,000 per US dollar.

"In my opinion, if the rupiah moves to around Rp15,000 per US dollar, it is not too difficult. I can't speak on behalf of the central bank, but if I were in their position, that level is not something that is difficult to achieve," said Purbaya at the Indonesia Economic Summit (IES) 2026 in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, February 4.

Purbaya explained that the opportunity to strengthen the rupiah can be done through faster economic fundamental improvements so that growth can print higher numbers.

High economic growth, he said, will make the community more prosperous, so that in the end foreign capital will flow by itself.

Foreign investors, he continued, want to take a share of the profits from the national economic growth.

When foreign direct investment (FDI) comes in, the rupiah will strengthen.

"When people see me working seriously to improve the economic conditions, and when they start to see the economy really improving, capital will come in and the rupiah will strengthen almost automatically," said Purbaya.

The Minister of Finance added that the current rupiah exchange rate does not reflect the fundamentals of the Indonesian economy.

The rupiah exchange rate at the close of trading in Jakarta, Tuesday, moved up 44 points or 0.26 percent to Rp16,754 per US dollar from the previous Rp16,798 per US dollar.

He also doubted that the current rupiah condition would trigger a crisis like in 1997-1998.

Because, the current authority is moving in unison to maintain the level of the rupiah exchange rate.

In addition to BI which plays a major role, there are also other authorities that are included in the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK), including the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).

Purbaya, who automatically became the Chairman of the KSSK, because he served as the Minister of Finance, will hold a meeting to mitigate the impact if there is a strengthening of the US dollar against the rupiah.

Meanwhile, at present, according to him, the level of the rupiah exchange rate has not reached a point that has the potential to cause economic chaos.

"We and the central bank are also trying to encourage the rupiah to remain below Rp17,000. A level that I think is ideal in line with the assumption of the state budget, namely around Rp16,500 per US dollar," explained the Minister of Finance.

"I believe the central bank has the ability to control it," he added.