Combined Stimulus Could Serve as 'Remedy' to Stabilise Rupiah
JAKARTA - A combined stimulus is needed to pull the rupiah out of its depreciation trend. A package of measures, from boosting rupiah instrument yields to sending strong policy signals, is seen as a remedy for the weak exchange rate over the past week.
Syafruddin Karimi, an economist and professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business at Andalas University, explained that the immediate instruments needed to attract back foreign capital are a competitive rupiah yield, liquid foreign exchange hedging, and firm policy signals.
SRBI remains relevant as it offers attractive yield instruments with shorter tenor risk.
“The government needs to support this through measured SBN issuance, fiscal discipline, and certainty that BI is not forced to finance the deficit,” he said on Saturday (30 May 2026).
According to Syafruddin, the fastest-working instruments are not a single product but a credibility package: SRBI for yield, Domestic Non-Deliverable Forward (DNDF) for hedging, forex intervention to dampen volatility, and consistent fiscal-monetary communication.
“Foreign capital will return if investors see the rupiah is maintained, yields are attractive, and policy risks decline,” he said.
Nanang Wahyudin, Research & Education Coordinator at Valbury Asia Futures, said that in the very short term, the most immediate instruments remain on the financial market side (not the real sector).
“Increasing the attractiveness of rupiah asset yields,” he said.
He explained that regulators need to raise or recalibrate short-term pro-market instruments like SRBI and short-term Government Securities (SBN) to widen the yield spread against US Treasuries.
“Especially for global portfolio investors who are highly rate-sensitive,” he added.
Nanang urged regulators to ensure high secondary liquidity for SRBI and SBN so investors can enter and exit without significant discounts.
“This is crucial for risk premium confidence,” he said.
Additionally, the stimulus needed now is strengthening foreign exchange operations and microstructure.