Foreign Debt Escalates as Rupiah Weakens, Analyst Says
6 March 2015 15:06 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lucky Bayu Purnomo, a senior analyst from a LBP Enterprise, Lucky Bayu Purnomo, said that Rupiah's depreciation had caused foreign debt to increase by 3.5 to five percent. "Indonesian debt is dominated by export and import transaction, in which trade partners are using US Dollars," said Lucky.
Based on Bank Indonesia data, Indonesian foreign debt in the fourth trimester of 2014 was recroded at US$ 292.6 billion. Foreign debt on public sector reached US$ 129.7 billion (around 44.3 percent of the total debt) and private sector reached US$ 162.8 billion (around 55.7 percent of the total debt).
Lucky said that the increasing foreign debt value will put pressure on export-import surplus. Moreover, rupiah depreciation will have a negative impact on Indonesian company that employs foreign currency in its trade.
Rupiah, according to Lucky, will continue to depreciate following a slight fuel price increase on February.
ALI HIDAYAT
