Purbaya Hints at Another Panda Bond Issuance This Year

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has signalled that Indonesia may issue another Panda Bond this year. He made the statement when asked by reporters at the Ministry of Finance office on Friday (24/7/2026). “Maybe yes,” Purbaya said briefly when asked about the possibility of releasing another Panda Bond this year. The Indonesian government has just completed its inaugural issuance of global bonds denominated in Chinese yuan, known as Panda Bonds. In this first release, the government offered a total of CNY 7 billion, equivalent to approximately IDR 18.58 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of IDR 2,655 per CNY) or around US$1 billion. According to the Directorate General of Budget Financing and Risk Management (DJPPR) at the Ministry of Finance, Indonesia offered two tenors: a three-year bond worth CNY 5.6 billion and a five-year bond worth CNY 1.4 billion. Purbaya revealed that the government only absorbed CNY 7 billion from total incoming orders of CNY 17 billion. He explained that this was based on the advice of the lead underwriter to limit the uptake in order to improve the bond’s pricing. “The target was indeed one billion. The lead underwriter advised us not to take too much for now. Why? So the price is good, making the next issuance even better,” he explained. Purbaya stated that the results of this inaugural issuance were satisfactory, as the yield obtained was quite competitive and investor demand was high. He even compared the yield favourably against Dim Sum Bonds. The Ministry of Finance set the yield for the three-year Panda Bond at 1.90% and the five-year tenor at 2.19%. “If we look at the yield, it’s good, right? The three-year is around 1.9%, the five-year is 2.19%. It’s good, better than Dim Sum bonds,” Purbaya said. He added that this success demonstrates that Indonesia now has a cheaper alternative source of financing.