S&P Assessment Dismantles Moody's and Fitch's Views, Says Purbaya: The Highest Standard

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sdewa believes the assessment from international ratings agency S&P dismantles the negative sentiment from other agencies such as Moody’s and Fitch. Although both Moody’s and Fitch also maintained Indonesia’s credit rating, they revised the outlook to negative, which Purbaya said created a poor perception of his and the President’s management of the state budget. “This update from S&P is confirmation that we are on the right track, with good and prudent policies,” Purbaya said in the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday (14/7/2026). He stressed that S&P’s decision to maintain Indonesia’s sovereign credit rating at BBB for the long term and A-2 for the short term, with a stable outlook, is global recognition that the government is managing the fiscal situation well and cautiously while accelerating economic growth. “This is different from what observers have shown, claiming we are running the fiscal policy brutally and so on. So the S&P assessment dismantles the accusations that I or the President are mismanaging fiscal duties,” he asserted. Purbaya also emphasised that S&P uses very high standards when rating a country’s debt and is not influenced by political elements. He acknowledged, however, that he had provided detailed explanations to S&P on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings last April, bringing along several members of the House of Representatives (DPR), including Deputy Speaker Sri Yuliati, Commission XI Chair Mukhamad Misbakhun, and Commission XI Deputy Chair Mohamad Hekal. “Clearly, their standard is the highest, so they don’t mess around and are not influenced by politics. They see things as they are. And we have also been holding discussions with S&P when they seek deeper information,” Purbaya explained.