Bank Indonesia : Indonesia’s External Debt Remained Manageable

Indonesia's external debt at the end of November 2017 amounted to USD347.3 billion or grew 9.1% (yoy). Based on the group of borrowers, private and public sector (government and central bank) external debt were each increased. The private sector external debt at the end of November 2017 stood at USD170.6 billion or grew at 4.2% (yoy), higher than the previous month growth of 1.3% (yoy). Meanwhile, the public sector external debt amounted to USD176.6 billion or grew 14.3% (yoy), expanding from 8.4% (yoy) in the previous month.

Based on original maturity, the Indonesia's external debt structure at the end of November 2017 remained benign. The external debt was dominated by long-term debt, accounted for 85.7% of total external debt at the end of November 2017 with growth accelerating from 3.9% (yoy) the month earlier to 7.5% (yoy). Meanwhile, short-term external debt represented 14.3% of total external debt grew 19.8 (yoy), or higher than 10.8% (yoy) in October 2017.

Based on economic sector, the private sector external debt position at the end of November 2017 was mainly concentrated in the financial, manufacturing, electricity, gas & water supply, and mining sectors. The shares of these four sectors' external debt to total private sector external debt reached 77.6%, slightly increased from 76.9% posted in the previous month. Compare to the previous month, the year-on-year external debt growth of the financial, manufacturing, and gas & water supply sectors were increased. In contrast, the annual external debt growth of the mining sector was still in the negative territory.

Bank Indonesia views the development of external debt in November 2017 remains manageable. The ratio of Indonesia's external debt to gross domestic product (GDP) is stable at around 34% at the end of November 2017. The ratio is better than the average ratio of peer countries. Bank Indonesia will persevere to monitor the development of external debt to give assurance that the external debt can play an optimal role in supporting development financing without incurring the risks that may affect macroeconomic stability.

The complete data concerning the Indonesia's external debt can be found in the latest External Debt Statistics of Indonesia in Bank Indonesia website.