Spending Rp2 trillion per day to strengthen the rupiah, Purbaya: Only Rp600 billion realised

Jakarta — Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said that, in an effort to help strengthen the rupiah, the government has prepared funds of up to Rp2 trillion per day to buy government bonds. However, he conceded that purchase realisations have been modest, as only around Rp600 billion has been absorbed, so in his view the selling pressure in the bond market has not been too large. ‘Yesterday I had targeted Rp2 trillion, but only Rp600 billion was obtained. That means there are not many sellers,’ Purbaya said at the Ministry of Finance in Jakarta on Tuesday, 19 May 2026. He said the government has been in the bond market since Thursday last week, and will continue monitoring developments to formulate policies for the future. ‘Since Thursday last week (the government has entered the bond market), but absorption is small, we’ll see what happens. So we will ensure bond prices stay under control,’ he said. Purbaya explained that, to date, the government has only engaged in cash management as part of the effort to strengthen the rupiah. He admitted not yet using the bond stabilization framework, which if implemented would involve other entities such as PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI). ‘This is just cash management. If we implement the framework, I will call SMI and others to participate. But now it isn’t as severe as that, it’s relatively manageable,’ he said. It is known that previously, the move to intervene in the bond market had already been voiced by Purbaya as one of the government’s strategies to strengthen the rupiah against the US dollar. With that approach, he hopes the rupiah can appreciate again in the near term. ‘I will enter the bond market every day. I want to enter Rp2 trillion every day. So in the future (the rupiah) should be more stable,’ he said.