How much of Indonesia's foreign debt is short-term?

The issue of foreign debt is always a subject of public debate and a political commodity, especially in the run-up to general elections (Pemilu) like the current one. For some, the mounting foreign debt could become a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. However, the government maintains that the debt remains manageable, judging by indicators such as the debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio and its use in productive sectors. Despite the tendency for foreign debt to increase, particularly government debt, Indonesia's GDP is also continuously rising. Meanwhile, private debt is relatively controlled due to the requirement for underlying assets and hedging.

Based on Bank Indonesia data, Indonesia's foreign debt at the end of 2018 reached US$357.98 billion, equivalent to Rp 5,333.85 trillion at an exchange rate of Rp 14,900 per US dollar. According to maturity, short-term (less than 1 year) foreign debt of the government and central bank reached Rp 149.27 trillion, and private debt reached Rp 690.29 trillion. The amount of Indonesian foreign debt maturing within the next year reached Rp 839.56 trillion, or approximately 15.74% of the total debt. Government foreign debt maturing in the long term reached Rp 2,545.1 trillion, and private debt amounted to Rp 1,949.29 trillion.

Total Indonesian foreign debt (government, central bank, and private) until the end of July 2018 reached 34.34% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This figure is lower than the end-of-year position last year, which reached 34.75% of GDP. Indonesia's foreign debt ratio reached its highest level in the last nine years in 2016, at 36.09% of GDP. BI's foreign exchange reserves at the end of August 2018 amounted to US$ 117.97 billion, meaning they were sufficient to cover 6.6 months of imports plus maturing government debt. This amount exceeds the international standard of 3 months of imports.