Purbaya Says Panda Bond Issuance Will Make Rupiah 'Strong'

The government officially issued yuan-denominated bonds, known as Panda Bonds, on Thursday, 23 July 2026. The government is targeting fundraising of US$1 billion from the Panda Bonds. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa revealed that investor interest in the Panda Bond issuance has been quite good. However, he was unable to provide the final amount of the offering. “The value is good, but I don’t know the final result yet, because it’s tomorrow, Friday if I’m not mistaken (the book closing), I’ll check again later,” Purbaya said when met by reporters at the State Palace after a limited meeting on Thursday (23/7/2026). Purbaya is confident that the Panda Bond issuance is part of the government’s fiscal financing diversification, while also reducing dependence on the United States dollar. In line with this, Purbaya sees the Panda Bond issuance as a driver for the rupiah’s strengthening against the US dollar. “So the strategy was deliberately developed to maximise existing instruments to maintain the rupiah exchange rate,” he said. According to Purbaya, Bank Indonesia is also doing something similar through Local Currency Transactions, including the use of rupiah and yuan for trade between Indonesia and China.