Purbaya Reveals S&P "Warning" on Debt Interest Rates, Affirms Indonesia's Rating Remains Stable

JAKARTA - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa revealed a warning from the rating agency S&P Global Ratings concerning Indonesia’s fiscal condition, particularly the ratio of debt interest payments to state income.

The warning was conveyed during a meeting between the Indonesian government and S&P in Washington DC, United States, on Tuesday (14/4/2026) local time. S&P assessed that the interest payment ratio needs to be maintained to avoid burdening future fiscal conditions.

“They gave a warning to discuss in more depth that the rating for interest payments compared to income is above 15 percent,” Purbaya stated in his remarks on Thursday (16/4/2026).

Nevertheless, Purbaya affirmed that the government will continue to monitor this indicator to ensure fiscal stability remains intact.

“I said we will keep monitoring and ensure the economic condition stays good and the fiscal we maintain does not worsen from the interest payment side,” he continued.

Purbaya stated that the agency’s main focus is to observe the government’s consistency in keeping the deficit below a safe limit.

“Oh, they asked in detail about our fiscal condition, including this year’s and last year’s deficit, and mainly they want to see if we are consistent in keeping our deficit below 3 percent of GDP,” said Purbaya.

“So I said we are consistent with that policy; our president has given directions that our deficit is kept below 3 percent of GDP,” he added.

Purbaya noted that the current budget deficit is around 2.9 percent and has the potential to decrease to about 2.8 percent in the central government financial report (LKPP).

On the revenue side, the government also recorded positive performance, especially from tax growth in the early part of the year.

“When we informed them that tax growth in the first month of this year reached 30 percent and in March, from January to March, it grew 20 percent,” he said.