Monitoring Market Developments, Purbaya to Boost Panda Bond Target Above US$1 Billion

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa will raise the target for the issuance of Panda Bonds to above US$1 billion, whilst monitoring the development of investor demand in the Chinese market. Purbaya confirmed he will continue to observe market demand, meaning the final target will follow the level of interest from investors in the Bamboo Curtain country. “(The Panda Bond target) will be increased. But we will see what the market is like. If the demand is large, we will enlarge it at once,” Purbaya said during a media briefing at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta on Friday, 26 June 2026. He explained that the government’s remaining global bond issuance requirement currently stands at around US$3 billion. If this requirement can be met through the Panda Bond issuance, the government will maximise this instrument. This optimism arises amid high Chinese investor interest in the planned Panda Bond issuance. Consequently, the government decided to postpone the issuance schedule from the original plan of early July to the end of July 2026. The delay is intended to give several investment managers and major banks in China time to complete their internal approval processes before participating in the purchase of the debt securities. “So the Panda Bond was originally going to be issued in early July, but it turns out (investor interest) increased; there were some large fund managers or big banks there that found out late, so they asked us to delay it slightly so they have time to submit their proposals to their investment committees,” Purbaya stated. He said that investor enthusiasm exceeding expectations was the main reason the government adjusted the schedule for issuing the renminbi-denominated debt securities. Purbaya assessed that this demand is a positive signal of high Chinese investor interest in Indonesian financing instruments. Therefore, the government chose to provide additional time so that investor participation can be more optimal. “I think it is good. It means the interest is substantial, so I postponed it until the end of July,” he said.