Government Debt Continues To Rise In Early 2023, Now IDR 7,861 Trillion

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

The Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) reported that the position of government debt in February 2023 was IDR 7,861.6 trillion or equivalent to 39.09 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

This figure is an increase when compared to January 2023 which amounted to Rp7,754.9 trillion or 38.56 percent of GDP.

"If you look at Law Number 17 of 2003 concerning State Finance, the maximum limit for debt ratio is 60 percent of GDP, so that the current Government debt ratio is still within safe and controlled limits," wrote the minutes of the Ministry of Finance, quoted on Sunday, March 19.

It was revealed that the amount of government debt consisted of Government Securities (SBN) amounting to Rp6,990.2 trillion and loans amounting to Rp871.4 trillion. In addition, the government claims that debt is still safe as well as shown by the dominance of the composition of domestic debt (in rupiah currency), which is 71.50 percent.

"This is in line with the general policy of debt financing, namely optimizing domestic financing sources and utilizing foreign debt as a complement to maintaining the risk of exchange rates," continued the Ministry of Finance report.

Furthermore, the state treasure office emphasized that debt management is carefully controlled by controlled risks through optimal composition, both related to currencies, interest rates, and dues.

"To control costs and debt risks, the government prioritizes the procurement of debt with a long medium tenor and actively manages debt portfolios. The majority debt composition is in the form of SBN instruments which reach 88.92 percent," said the Ministry of Finance.