Purbaya Reveals S&P Warning on Government Debt Interest Ratio

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa met with the international rating agency S&P Global Ratings in Washington DC, United States, on Tuesday, 14 April 2026. Purbaya revealed that S&P issued a warning concerning Indonesia’s government debt ratio.

According to the state treasurer, S&P highlighted the level of the government debt interest payment ratio against revenue. “They issued a warning, discussing in depth that the interest payments compared to income are above 15 percent,” Purbaya stated in his remarks, quoted on Friday, 17 April 2026.

Purbaya explained that the government will continue to monitor this situation while maintaining the state budget (APBN). “I said that we will monitor it continuously, ensuring the economic condition remains good and the fiscal position will be maintained without deteriorating in terms of debt interest payments,” he said.

The safe ratio of debt interest payments to state revenue, based on standards from several agencies including S&P, is generally below 15 percent. In fact, with this year’s debt interest payments for Indonesia reaching Rp 599.5 trillion, while state revenue is targeted at Rp 3,153.9 trillion, the ratio has reached 19 percent.

This means that 19 percent of total state revenue is used solely to pay debt interest. This does not yet include the government principal debt payments. For this year, based on Law No. 17 of 2025 on the State Budget, the government will draw new debt of Rp 832.2 trillion. This is an increase from last year’s target of Rp 775.9 trillion.

Previously, S&P Global Ratings had stated that Indonesia’s sovereign debt rating is vulnerable to weakening fiscal or external credit indicators due to war. Indonesia’s credit rating is considered more vulnerable compared to some other ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

However, Purbaya stated that during the meeting in Washington, S&P confirmed it would maintain Indonesia’s debt rating at the BBB level with a stable outlook. S&P typically releases or updates Indonesia’s sovereign credit rating in July. According to Purbaya, in June 2026, the S&P team will visit Indonesia for an assessment.