1,800 Tonnes of Indonesian Gold 'Under the Mattress' Exceeds Bank Indonesia and India's Reserves

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The gold stock held by Indonesian citizens ‘under the mattress’, meaning outside the formal financial system, is large enough to rival the official gold reserves of major countries.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto noted that at least 1,800 tonnes of gold belonging to Indonesian citizens is not yet deposited with financial institutions offering bullion bank services.

According to him, this amount could make Indonesia the country with the third-largest gold stock if it were placed within the financial system, below the United States with 8,133 tonnes and China with 2,331 tonnes.

‘Because if we look at America, it has a gold stock of 8,133 tonnes, then China has 2,331. If Indonesia has 1,800, that would immediately put us below them all,’ Airlangga said at the launch of the Indonesia Bullion Market Association at the Monas Grand Ballroom, BSI Tower, Jakarta, on Thursday (20/8/2026).

‘India has 880 tonnes, and Singapore of course has relatively less than that,’ Airlangga stressed.

He noted that the gold stock held by Indonesian citizens ‘under the mattress’ is far higher than Bank Indonesia’s official reserves, which stand at only 70 tonnes.

‘Indeed, our reserves at Bank Indonesia are still low, only 70 tonnes at Bank Indonesia,’ Airlangga said.

Furthermore, financial institutions offering bullion services, such as Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), manage only around 20 tonnes of gold, while Pegadaian manages 153 tonnes.

For this reason, Airlangga urged the two financial institutions that already provide bullion services to find ways to build public trust in depositing their gold assets.

‘So the task for Pegadaian and BSI is how to get perhaps just 20 per cent of this US$252 billion to move from under the mattress into financial instruments, whether sharia banking instruments or Pegadaian,’ Airlangga said.

According to Airlangga, the 1,800 tonnes of gold is worth US$252 billion, or approximately Rp 4,483.02 trillion when converted to the rupiah exchange rate.

‘The gold under the mattress amounts to 1,800 tonnes. Now, 1,800 tonnes has an extraordinary value of US$252 billion,’ Airlangga said.