Minister Warns Privates about Foreign Debts
23 July 2014 17:46 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Chairul Tanjung reminded the private sector to be more careful in obtaining foreign loans, related to Indonesia's rapidly growing external leverages.
The current foreign debt ratio is relatively safe and more measurable because the government continues to limit its debts. "There is no problem, the debt-to-GDP ratio is still at 25 percent," Chairul said Monday.
Previously, Bank Indonesia (BI) said the foreign debt in May reached US$283.7 billion, a 9.7-percent year-on-year increase. The debt mainly comprises of private debts, which amounted to US$151.5 billion, while the public debt reached US$132.2 billion.
BI's warning about the growth of foreign leverage, Chairul said, was made following the significant uptrend in foreign loans, "not because of the numbers," he said.
Chairul asked the private sector to immediately hedge their loans against the US dollar, to prevent payments from swelling in rupiah is corrected.
JAYADI SUPRIADIN | HERMAWAN SETYANTO | MAYA NAWANGWULAN
