39.3 Percent Of GDP, Government Debt Has Risen Again To IDR 7,420 Trillion At The End Of September 2022

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) reports that until the end of September 2022 the government's debt position is at IDR 7,420.4 trillion, equivalent to 39.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

This figure is higher than last August's book which amounted to IDR 7,236.6 trillion with a ratio to GDP of 38.3 percent.

"There is an increase in the nominal amount and debt ratio at the end of September 2022 when compared to last month," said the October 2022 edition of our APBN minutes broadcast via the official website, Tuesday, October 25.

Despite the increase, the Ministry of Finance ensures that this level of change is still within safe, reasonable and controlled limits accompanied by optimal portfolio diversification.

The institution led by Minister Sri Mulyani assessed that the reason the debt ratio was still at a safe limit because it was still far below the maximum limit stipulated in laws that reached 60 percent of GDP.

"As we all know, the increase in the amount of debt cannot be separated from the rapidly increasing demand for financing as a result of the state budget spending needs during the pandemic starting 2020," said the Ministry of Finance report.

It is stated that widening the deficit is a policy taken by almost all countries so that the economy is maintained.

Due to the pandemic, the economy has not moved due to the PPKM policy in Indonesia and the lockdown in some countries so that it is to finance activities including for social protection so that financing becomes the backbone due to state revenues not achieving the target. This has an impact on increasing the debt-to-GDP ratio," said the Ministry of Finance.

In detail, based on its type, government debt is dominated by State Securities (SBN) instruments which reach 89 percent. Meanwhile, based on currency, the government's debt is mostly in domestic currency (rupiah), which is 70.8 percent.

Meanwhile, SBN ownership is currently dominated by banks and followed by Bank Indonesia (BI). Meanwhile, foreign investor ownership has continued to decline since 2019 which reached 38.57 percent, until the end of 2021 it was recorded at 19.05 percent, and as of October 18, 2022 it reached 14.09 percent.