BI Has Disbursed IDR 32.5 Trillion To Participate In Funding For The 2022 State Budget

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) is still continuing the burden sharing step or sharing the state's financial burden by buying government bonds to help finance the 2022 State Budget.

BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said that until June 22, 2022, the central bank's acquisition value of state securities (SBN) had reached IDR 32.54 trillion.

"This purchase was made through the main auction mechanism, greenshoe option, and private placement," he said through an online channel when giving a statement to reporters on Thursday, June 23.

According to Perry, the policy for collecting SBN is contained in the Joint Decree (SKB) III of the Minister of Finance and the Governor of Bank Indonesia which is valid until December 31, 2022.

"This is a form of fiscal and monetary coordination where Bank Indonesia continues to purchase SBN in the primary market for funding the 2022 State Budget in the context of the national economic recovery program," he said.

The editor noted that SKB III was the last year of cooperation between the central bank and the government to fund the APBN. Previously, the SKB I had been implemented in 2020 with a commitment value of Bank Indonesia reaching Rp473.42 trillion. Then in the SKB II the monetary authority realized the disbursement of funds amounting to Rp201 trillion.

To note, this tactic is one of the government's ways to reduce interest costs. This is because the SBN released to BI is only subject to an interest rate of minus 1 percent of the BI benchmark interest rate for the non-public goods spending sector. Meanwhile, for purchases aimed at public goods, the interest rate is set at 0 percent.