Govt to Draw New Debt to Cover Projected 2024 Budget Deficit

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Finance said on Monday that the government will draw new debt totaling Rp648.1 trillion (US$41.8 million) in 2024 to close the deficit of projected state budget (APBN).

Director of government debt securities at the ministry, Deni Ridwan, said that the debt will be drawn to cover the budget deficit, which is expected to widen to 2.9 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) or Rp522 trillion (US$33.7 million) in 2024, from 2.27 percent in 2023.

"Our debt has increased nominally; with a (state budget) deficit of around 2.9 percent next year, our debt will increase by Rp648.1 trillion," he informed at the launch of the Electronic Indonesia Bond Market Directory (E-IBMD) at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on Monday, December 18, 2023.

He informed that the increase in debt withdrawal in 2024 will increase financing for principal and interest debt. However, he said, the ratio of Indonesia's debt to the gross domestic product (GDP) is still fairly safe.

"If we compare it with peer countries, our ratio of debt to GDP has decreased to 37 percent. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was 40 percent; this is still relatively low, while ASEAN countries like Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand reached averagely of 70 percent," he expounded.

The new debt totaling Rp648.1 trillion that President Joko Widodo is preparing to withdraw following the launch of the 2024 Financial Memorandum Book reflects an increase of 14.9 percent compared to this year's outlook of Rp406.4 trillion.

However, the debt financing target has been lowered from this year's target of Rp696.3 trillion.

ANTARA

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