External Debt Of 416.6 Billion Dollars, What Can You Do So Much Money?

Dollar bill illustration. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia reported that Indonesia's foreign debt (ULN) until November 2020 reached 416.6 billion US dollars, or the equivalent of IDR 5,500 trillion (exchange rate of IDR 14,300).

Of this amount, 206.5 billion US dollars were external debt belonging to the government and the central bank. Meanwhile, the largest portion was private sector external debt, including state-owned enterprises, which reached 210.1 billion US dollars.

With a total foreign debt of Rp.5,500 trillion, what do you use the money for?

1. To finance state spending for two years

In a press conference for the realization of the 2020 State Budget (APBN) on January 6, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said that over the past year the government spent no less than IDR 2,589 trillion.

This means that the current value of Indonesia's foreign debt is equivalent to the government's two-year budget. However, even that still has an excess of around Rp. 500 trillion.

2. Buy a Tesla car for all residents of Bogor City

Based on information compiled by VOI, the price of an electric car with the Tesla brand is priced at IDR 4.4 billion for the most expensive type.

If you have a budget of IDR 5,500 trillion, it will be enough to buy 1.25 million units of environmentally friendly cars. Or the number is almost the same as the population of Bogor City

3. Double the wealth of the richest person on planet earth

On Friday, January 8, Bloomberg has released a report on the list of the world's richest people which is summarized in the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

From the news, it was written that Elon R. Musk managed to occupy the top position with a net worth of 195 billion US dollars. If converted into rupiah, the value is approximately Rp. 2,600 trillion.

This means that BosTesla is the only person in the world who is most able to pay Indonesia's external debt because he has a wealth of nearly half the country's foreign debt.

4. Equivalent to 15 times the GBK sports complex

On one occasion, the Ministry of Finance reported that the most expensive state asset in Indonesia is the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan, Jakarta with an estimated IDR 347 trillion.

If these GBK assets are sold, around 15 GBK are needed to be sold in order to pay off Indonesia's foreign debt

5. Half of all assets belong to the Indonesian government

Still from data published by the Ministry of Finance, the total commercial assets of the Republic of Indonesia are estimated at IDR 10,467 trillion. This figure is compiled from several types of assets, such as buildings, land, vehicles, to the commercialization of BUMN.

If the government intends to pay off foreign debt immediately, it will need to auction off more than half of the country's assets today.

Even though Indonesia's external debt appears large, the monetary authority ensures that the value of this obligation is still in a fair and safe condition.

"The structure of Indonesia's external debt remains healthy, supported by the application of prudential principles in its management," emphasized Bank Indonesia.