Government settles Rp218.3 trillion BLBI bond debt

Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara has announced that the government has fully settled all Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) bond debts to Bank Indonesia (BI), amounting to Rp218.3 trillion.

Suahasil stated that the repayment was completed on 24 August 2024, marking the end of the government’s obligations to BI arising from the issuance of bonds during the 1997-1998 financial crisis management.

“At the end of last month, we successfully completed the payment of the BLBI bond debt to Bank Indonesia,” Suahasil said at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Tuesday.

According to the Minister, the BLBI bonds were issued by the government approximately three decades ago as part of the response to the 1997-1998 economic crisis. These obligations were subsequently paid by the government through the State Budget (APBN) to BI on a regular basis.

She explained that the surplus obtained by BI in its operational activities, in accordance with regulations, can be deposited into the state treasury and recorded as Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP). This revenue was then utilised to settle the government’s obligations regarding the BLBI bonds.

“The bond debt of Rp218.3 trillion is finished; we have fully paid it,” she emphasised.

“With this, we are truly closing the historical chapter of the bond issuance for the 1997-1998 crisis management, which was resolved during the administration of President Prabowo Subianto,” she concluded.