Government Debt Reaches Rp6,625.43 Trillion in August 2021

The Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) recorded government debt of Rp 6,625.43 trillion in August 2021. This figure is equivalent to 40.85% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Government debt in August 2021 increased by Rp 55.27 trillion or 0.8% compared to the previous month, which stood at Rp 6,570.16 trillion. Compared to the same period last year, which was Rp 5,594.93 trillion, government debt increased by 15.5%.

Rp 5,792.39 trillion, or 87.42% of government debt, is in the form of State Bonds (SBN). This comprises Rp 4,517.71 trillion in domestic SBN and Rp 1,274.68 trillion in foreign currency (valas) SBN.

Meanwhile, Rp 833.04 trillion, or 12.57% of government debt, comes from loans. Of this amount, Rp 12.64 trillion is from domestic sources.

Furthermore, the government has Rp 820.40 trillion in loans from foreign sources. This comprises Rp 308.96 trillion in bilateral loans, Rp 468.67 trillion in multilateral loans, and Rp 42.78 trillion in commercial bank loans.

During the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, almost all countries, especially developing countries, experienced an increase in debt. This is due to increased spending, particularly in the health sector.

Kemenkeu has taken steps to manage debt. One of these is maintaining a larger composition of domestic SBN compared to foreign currency-denominated SBN.

The government also utilizes foreign loans which are more cost-efficient. In addition, the government is pursuing various creative and innovative financing alternatives through government and business cooperation schemes (KPBU) and blended financing.