Purbaya: US Imitates Indonesia in Managing Bond Market Pressure
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has spoken about the United States’ move to use budget instruments to calm turbulence in its bond market.
Purbaya said the US step actually confirms that the policy Indonesia has already implemented earlier is in line with international standards, and even signals that the strategy Indonesia has pursued through a buyback scheme for government bonds sold by foreign investors is a good example.
“It shows that what we are doing is indeed the international standard. Perhaps America is imitating us as well, and it succeeded, so they followed. But clearly the concern is the same: they will do it to add liquidity to the economic system,” Purbaya said, as quoted on Thursday (20/8/2026).
He explained that the basic principle is the same wherever one is. When a government sees that liquidity in the financial market is disrupted, the authorities will pursue various legitimate instruments to keep the economy stable.
“So if the government sees that liquidity is disrupted anywhere, it will do everything lawful that can be done to ensure the economy is not disrupted. So what we are doing is the same as what America is doing,” Purbaya stressed.
The bond buyback policy was previously carried out by Purbaya in May 2026, when he repurchased Rp 600 billion worth of government securities (SBN) sold by foreign investors within just five days.
The buyback of bonds offloaded by foreign investors was carried out through the Bond Stabilization scheme, with funds sourced entirely from the state budget (APBN). The ceiling prepared by Purbaya was Rp 2 trillion per day.
Meanwhile, the US Department of the Treasury announced on Wednesday (19/8/2026) that it would double the size of its buyback operations for long-dated debt to support market liquidity.
According to a Reuters report, the maximum size of buyback operations for 10-20 year and 20-30 year bonds was raised from US$2 billion to at least US$4 billion per operation, effective from 9 September to 4 November 2026.
The policy was adopted after the US bond market was rocked by a massive sell-off that pushed the yield on 30-year debt to its highest level since 2007. The surge in yields was triggered by global investor concerns about the US fiscal position amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
In its official statement, the US Treasury said the expansion of the buyback scale reflects the authorities’ desire to provide greater liquidity support in the long-dated sector, given the high volume of quality offers regularly received in these operations.
The US move comes as total US public debt has surpassed US$32 trillion, with around US$5.5 trillion of that in 20- and 30-year bonds as of the end of July 2026.