No. 24/81/DKom
Indonesia's external debt decreased in January 2022. The position of external debt at the end of January 2022 stood at USD413.6 billion, down from USD415.3 billion in the previous month. The decline stemmed from lower respective positions in the public sectors (Government and Central Bank) and private sectors. Annually, external debt in January 2022 contracted 1.7% (yoy), a deeper contraction than declining 0.4% (yoy) the month earlier.
Government external debt maintained a downward trend in January 2022. After retreating since September 2021, the position of government external debt in January 2022 was recorded at USD199.3 billion, down from USD200.2 billion in December 2021, with the contraction deepening to 5.4% (yoy) from 3.0% (yoy) in response to several SBN series reaching maturity in January 2022, including SBN denominated in US dollars. In terms of foreign loans, bilateral loans experienced a net decline as loans used to finance several infrastructure projects were repaid. The Government remains firmly committed to maintaining credibility by servicing principal and interest repayments on schedule, while managing external debt prudently, credibly and accountably. The Government withdrew external debt in January 2022 to finance productive sectors and support Covid-19 containment measures along with the national economic recovery program. Government external debt support to fulfil productive sector financing and priority expenditures included human health and social activities (24.5% of total government external debt), education (16.5%), public administration, defence and compulsory social security (15.1%), construction (14.2%) as well as insurance and financial services (11.8%). The position of government external debt remains safe and manageable in terms of short-term refinancing risk, considering that 99.9% of total government external debt is dominated by long-term tenors.
Private external debt continued to decline. The position of private external debt stood at USD205.3 billion in January 2022, down from USD206.1 billion in December 2021. Annually, private external debt contracted a deeper 1.0% (yoy) in January 2022, compared with a 0.8% (yoy) decline in the previous period. The latest developments stemmed from the servicing of matured private foreign loans in January 2022, leading to a deeper 4.3% (yoy) contraction of external debt at financial corporations compared with a 4.2% (yoy) decrease recorded in December 2021, while non-financial corporations recorded a 0.1% (yoy) contraction after expanding 0.1% (yoy) in the previous period. By sector, private external debt was dominated by financial and insurance services, electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply, the manufacturing industry as well as mining and drilling, accounting for 76.6% of total private external debt. In addition, 76.3% of total private external debt is dominated by long-term maturities.
The external debt structure in Indonesia remains sound, supported by prudential management. External debt in Indonesia was manageable in January 2022, as reflected by a decrease in the ratio of external debt to gross domestic product (GDP) to 34.1% from 35.0% one month earlier. In addition, external debt in Indonesia is still dominated by long-term debt, accounting for 88.2% of the total. Seeking to maintain a sound structure, Bank Indonesia and the Government continue to strengthen coordination in terms of monitoring external debt, supported by the application of prudential principles, while optimising the role of debt to support development financing and drive the national economic recovery, as well as minimize the risks that could impact economic stability.
The complete data on the latest Indonesia's external debt and its metadata can be obtained in the publication of Indonesia's External Debt Statistics (SULNI) March 2022 edition on the Bank Indonesia website. This publication can also be accessed through the Ministry of Finance website.
Jakarta, 15th March 2022
Head of Communication Department
Erwin Haryono
Executive Director
Information on Bank Indonesia
Tel. 021-131, email: bicara@bi.go.id
