TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati revealed that Rp266.3 trillion in new debt has been issued as of July 2024. “From the debt financing posture of Rp648.1 trillion, the new realization is Rp266.3 trillion. This represents 41.1 percent [of this year’s target], and this is only the seventh month,” she said in a press conference on the state budget in Jakarta on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, as reported by Antara.

The figure marks a significant increase compared to last year's realization, which was 36.6 percent. However, Sri considered this reasonable as state revenues in 2023 were quite high due to the spike in commodity prices.

“That's why last year's SBN (state securities) issuance experienced an extraordinary decline, from the target of Rp437.8 trillion to only Rp184.1 trillion,” said the state treasurer.

Sri outlined that Rp253 trillion worth of government securities (SBN) have been issued, representing approximately 38% of the annual target. “This year’s deficit is indeed estimated to be higher than in 2023.”

Sri attributed the deficit hike as part of the countercyclical strategies to stabilize the economy by increasing debt issuance. The ministry recorded that the remaining debt financing comprises Rp13.3 trillion in loans and Rp49.3 trillion in non-debt financing, bringing the total financing to Rp217 trillion by the end of July.

“The growth is quite high compared to last year, but it is relatively on track. Last year was an exception because state revenues were extraordinarily good,” said Sri Mulyani, ensuring that the Finance Ministry remains committed to fiscal discipline, aiming to control the deficit through revenue generation and expenditure management.

ANTARA

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