Purbaya's Moment Under Scrutiny from Global Investors: Capable of Being Finance Minister?

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The annual IMF-World Bank Spring Meeting last week provided an opportunity for Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa to meet with several global investors.

During the meeting held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank annual event, Purbaya admitted that he was grilled by various international investors on whether he could maintain the state budget deficit within the safe limit of 3% of GDP as per the State Finance Law.

Purbaya stated that he firmly responded that the government is committed to keeping fiscal matters in line with the guidelines in the State Finance Law.

“Last week, I met with major global investors. Their main question was about fiscal matters. Are you going to breach 3% or not? I said no,” Purbaya said at the Juanda I Building of the Ministry of Finance, Jakarta, on Tuesday (21/4/2026).

“How? I explained to them how we do it. They seemed to believe it. I said it’s safe because we keep it in check,” Purbaya emphasised.

In the meeting organised by businesspeople from around the world affiliated with the ASEAN-US Chamber, he stressed that the Indonesian government is currently very capable of managing fiscal affairs well, even as the economic growth target accelerates.

The Finance Minister, who replaced Sri Mulyani Indrawati on 8 September 2025, assessed that the businesspeople or global investors ultimately became convinced that the government can indeed manage fiscal matters effectively.

“So in one meeting with investors, with the ASEAN-US Chamber that was fully attended, they didn’t want to see anything else, just one thing: whether the minister is competent or not. Well, we showed there that we’re skilled too. So they also became confident that fiscal policy is managed well, and thus the Ministry of Finance is respected there,” Purbaya explained.