Government to Issue Panda Bond Tomorrow, Targets USD 1 Billion

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has announced that the Indonesian government will issue debt securities in the Chinese capital market, known as Panda Bonds, having secured an AAA rating from Lianhe Credit Rating, a respected rating agency in China. This rating is the highest level a debt issuer can obtain. “So in China, our debt rating is at the very top, all the way to the right,” Purbaya said during the APBN KiTa press conference at the Ministry of Finance office in Jakarta on Tuesday, 21 July 2026. Purbaya noted that the AAA rating is crucial for Indonesia because China represents a large and promising bond market. “With this AAA rating, we should not find it too difficult to issue debt securities there,” he stated. According to Purbaya, Lianhe’s assessment was based on several key factors in Indonesia, such as economic growth, solid economic fundamentals, the largest economy in Southeast Asia with resilience to external shocks, and a government debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio below 40 percent. Purbaya further stated that the Panda Bond issuance is planned for Thursday, 23 July 2026, with a target of USD 1 billion. He said this figure was deliberately limited even though potential market demand is expected to be much larger. “Because this is a new market, we are testing the waters first. Even though the offering might attract very large bids, we are limiting it to USD 1 billion for now,” he said. In this issuance, Bank of China is acting as the lead underwriter. The joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners consist of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC), China International Capital Corp (CICC), and Development Bank of Singapore (DBS). Meanwhile, several major Chinese banks are also acting as co-managers, including the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Commercial Bank, and China Action Bank.