Purbaya Optimistic That The Weakening Of The Rupiah Is Only Temporary

Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadive. (Photo: ANTARA)

Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadive stated that he was not too worried about the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate in the last few days.

He is optimistic that the movement of the rupiah will return positive.

Purbaya said, the current pressure on the rupiah is only temporary and investors will be aware of the effectiveness of the policies recently issued by the government in encouraging national economic growth.

"Maybe in the middle of next week (rupiah) has also returned," he said in a media briefing, Friday, September 26.

He added that Indonesia's economic foundation will continue to strengthen in the future, because the Government is not playing games in implementing policies aimed at accelerating economic recovery.

"We carry out policies to boost the economy, no kidding. Central Bank is also in sync with us, the goal is the same. Maintain economic stabilization and create faster growth," he explained.

Purbaya explained that the current pressure on the rupiah was more triggered by negative sentiment due to the US dollar deposit interest policy of 4 percent by state-owned banks.

He said that if the weakening of the rupiah lasted until the end of the year, it would have an impact on the state budget.

"If over the next year like that, it will have an impact, but I am sure that when they know that our policies can really reverse economic growth, the rupiah will turn around quickly," he said.

However, he emphasized that the high interest policy was not a decision from the government and hoped that this clarification could reduce market panic.

"With a press conference that now states that there is no policy from the Ministry of Finance which is 4 percent, I think it will decrease quickly (negative sentiment) for the rupiah exchange rate. In addition, BI is also in accordance with its authority, maintaining the exchange rate aggressively, seriously, in accordance with their role, I think it will not take long to return." he explained.

Purbaya also reminded the government to have placed Rp200 trillion in funds into the banking system to encourage economic growth.

He believes that when economic growth begins to show acceleration, foreign investors' interest in Indonesia will be even greater.

"So, the secret of foreign capital entering here is not a high interest, but what economic prospects will be in the future. Don't expect them to come here to build our economy. Nothing. They come here to enjoy the economic growth cake that is here. They are all profit-oriented," he said.

Therefore, Purbaya emphasized, if Indonesia's economic prospects look promising, then the flow of foreign investment into the country will continue to increase