Compared to April 2026 which amounted to US$416.4 billion, the increase reached around US$28 billion.
BI explained that this increase was mainly triggered by increasing public sector debt, namely the government and Bank Indonesia.
The government’s external debt in May 2026 was recorded at US$217.3 billion, growing 3.7% yoy.
This increase was driven by the inflow of foreign funds into international Government Securities or SBN, which is considered to reflect investors’ continued confidence in Indonesia’s economic prospects.
Apart from that, Bank Indonesia’s external debt also increased due to the increase in foreign investor ownership of SRBI instruments.
Meanwhile, private external debt still fell slightly to US$195.9 billion, contracting 0.1% yoy.
Despite the increase, BI emphasized that Indonesia’s external debt structure is still healthy, with a foreign debt to GDP ratio of 29.9% and around 83.9% of it is long-term debt.
In your opinion, this increase in external debt is still safe because the structure is considered healthy?
Or do you still need to be careful because the number continues to increase?
Source: CNBC Indonesia
