Amid Global Volatility, Foreign Investors Return to Indonesia's Bond Market

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said that amid growing volatility in global financial markets and pressure on the rupiah, the government is seeing foreign capital returning to Indonesia’s bond market. The government has taken proactive steps to maintain stability in the domestic financial sector amid high global risk-off sentiment. One of the steps taken is intervention in the government bond market since last week, from Friday to Tuesday.

The measures are said to have begun to bear fruit with a decline in government bond yields and renewed investor confidence in the domestic financial market. ‘As the rupiah wobbles, the government is compelled to take measures to stabilise the bond market. We have entered since last week, Friday, Monday, Tuesday. Today we have entered Rp1.3 trillion,’ Purbaya said at the APBN KiTa April 2026 performance and facts press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (19 May).

He explained that the intervention has reduced yields, which in turn has encouraged foreign investors to re-enter Indonesia’s debt market, both on the secondary and primary markets. He said foreign investors were recorded entering the secondary market with around Rp500 billion, while in the primary market it reached Rp1.3 trillion. Thus, total foreign inflows were estimated at around Rp1.8 trillion.

Purbaya assessed that the steps to stabilise the bond market are beginning to restore foreign investor confidence in Indonesia’s financial markets. He acknowledged the recovery of confidence is not instant, but has begun to appear in recent days. ‘Amid the volatility, foreign money is starting to come in here,’ he said.

He also said he would continue to monitor foreign fund flows over time. In fact, he regularly contacts the Director General of Financing and Risk Management at the Ministry of Finance (DJPPR Kemenkeu), Suminto, to monitor the movement of funds entering the bond market. ‘I monitor from time to time. At 11 a.m., I call Mr Suminto to check how much has come in. Then at 4 p.m. I call again, at 6 p.m. I call again,’ he said.

Purbaya emphasised that the government will continue to take concrete steps to restore confidence in the domestic financial market. He regards bond market intervention as the main instrument available to maintain stability amid global pressures. ‘We are taking concrete action to restore market confidence,’ he concluded. (E-4)

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa ready to intervene in the bond market via the Bond Stabilisation Fund (BSF) to stabilise yields on government securities and support the Rupiah which weakened to Rp17,529 per US dollar. The minister also stated that the BSF would only be activated in a crisis; the government is currently focused on stabilising the bond market and the rupiah.

Josua explained that Panda Bond can reduce dependence on the US dollar and open access to China’s financial markets.

The rupiah closed weaker at Rp17,189 per US dollar, driven by negative sentiment from S&P Global Ratings on Indonesia’s bonds and concerns about fiscal pressures.