No.25/245/DKom
Indonesia has formed a National Task Force to expand the use of local currency transactions (LCT) in Indonesia with partner countries, involving the participation of Bank Indonesia, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (IDIC). The National LCT Task Force was created in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning cooperation and coordination to increase the use of local currency transactions in Indonesia with partner countries, as witnessed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, today (05/09/23) on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit 2023 in Jakarta.
“Bank Indonesia is confident that the National LCT Task Force will be an effective coordination forum to strengthen policy synergy between government ministries and agencies in an effort to increase the use of local currencies in bilateral transactions between Indonesia and major trading partners," conveyed the Governor of Bank Indonesia, Perry Warjiyo.
The National LCT Task Force was established to promote broader implementation of the LCT framework, thereby supporting efforts to increase rupiah stability and strengthen the resilience of domestic financial markets. LCT implementation is expected to contribute to export-import activities, investment, and cross-border payment transactions, including cross-border QRIS, as well as facilitate securities trading moving forward.
The National LCT Task Force was also established as an exemplar of collaboration and to expand the role of the authorities at the national level as a concrete manifestation of the ASEAN High Level Principles (HLP) on the LCT Framework, which is one of the priority deliverables of Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, specifically encouraging the use of local currencies to reduce vulnerability to external volatility, while also deepening the financial markets.
The National LCT Task Force is also the tangible manifestation of efforts by national authorities to expand LCT implementation in line with government programs to strengthen the national economy. To that end, all government ministries and agencies will collaborate to formulate the provision of facilities and incentives, while accelerating export-import services for business players using local currencies in their transactions with partner countries.
Policy synergy, as strengthened among members of the National LCT Task Force, intends to formulate policy recommendations that encourage business players to increase their use of local currencies in trade transactions and direct investment, including policy coordination and the application of provisions in the banking and financial sectors, along with supporting policies to expand the use of LCT in cross-border payment transactions.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the National LCT Task Force, which was signed on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, is also expected to serve as a showcase for domestic and international stakeholders regarding how the authorities in the financial services sector can work together with the Government and commit to policy synergy and collaboration to support policy implementation.
Currently, LCT Corporation has been implemented between Indonesia and several neighbouring countries, namely Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and China. Meanwhile, Singapore and South Korea have also signed cooperation agreements to build an LCT implementation framework with Indonesia.
Jakarta, 5th September 2023
Communication Department
Erwin Haryono
Executive Director
Information on Bank Indonesia
Tel. 021-131, Email: bicara@bi.go.id
