JAKARTA - Indonesia's External Debt (ULN) in May 2022 declined again. Indonesia's external debt position at the end of May 2022 was recorded at 406.3 billion US dollars, down from the previous month's external debt position of 410.1 billion US dollars. This development was caused by a decline in the position of external debt in the public sector (Government and Central Bank) and the private sector. On an annual basis, external debt in May 2022 contracted 2.6% (yoy), deeper than the contraction in the previous month of 2.0% (yoy).
The Government's external debt in May 2022 consistently continued the downward trend. The government's external debt position in May 2022 was recorded at 188.2 billion US dollars, down from the previous month's external debt of 190.5 billion US dollars. On an annual basis, the Government's external debt contracted by 7.5% (yoy), deeper than the contraction in the previous month of 7.3% (yoy). The downward trend in external debt occurred in line with several series of Government Securities (SBN) maturing in May 2022 and the influence of global sentiment that triggered a shift in portfolio investment in the domestic SBN market by non-resident investors.
Private external debt declined compared to the previous month. The position of private external debt in May 2022 was recorded at 209.4 billion US dollars, down from 210.9 billion US dollars in April 2022. Annually, private external debt contracted 0.7% (yoy) after growing 0.3% (yoy) in previous month. The decline was contributed by non-financial corporations' external debt which contracted by 0.9% (yoy), after growing 0.8% (yoy) in the previous month. This development mainly came from the repayment of maturing loans and debt securities.
“The structure of Indonesia's external debt remains healthy, supported by the application of the precautionary principle in its management. Indonesia's external debt in May 2022 remained under control, as reflected in the ratio of Indonesia's external debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which was maintained at around 32.3%, a decrease compared to the ratio in the previous month of 32.6%," explained Erwin Haryono, Head of Bank Indonesia Communications Department. (LM)