Taking Aim at Vietnam's Pace, BTN Chief: Do Not Boast of Building Empty Apartments

Jakarta — The gap between Indonesia’s housing needs and actual supply remains a troubling paradox.

Whilst millions of families dream of owning their own homes, thousands of apartment units stand vacant, frozen as dormant assets untouched by the market.

Nixon LP Napitupulu, Director of PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk, views this situation as a warning bell for the property industry.

Nixon highlighted how apartment assets that have been constructed but remain unoccupied should be reabsorbed into the economic cycle.

“The idea is how these assets become part of an economic solution, not merely concrete monuments,” he said on Tuesday (10 March 2026).

Nixon did not hesitate to compare Indonesia’s sluggish domestic acceleration with neighbouring countries.

Vietnam, for example, has shown far faster reactions in executing public housing programmes.

Bureaucratic efficiency and financing commitments there have made property industry turnover far more dynamic.

He stressed the importance of data transparency. Without accurate data, subsidies will only result in repeated misdirection.

“We no longer need merely programmes on paper. We need real execution on the ground,” Nixon said firmly.

One critical point Nixon raised was housing quality. He observed a trend where many subsidised apartments or houses are built to questionable standards.

For him, housing is a matter of human dignity, not merely a political commodity.

BTN’s future focus will not only be channelling loans, but ensuring supporting ecosystems, such as construction materials and unit sustainability, remain maintained.

Nixon warned that next year’s challenges will be more significant. Economic fluctuations and volatile consumer purchasing power require banks to be more adaptive.

“We must not end up merely proud of our loan disbursement figures whilst people struggling to pay instalments find their units uninhabitable,” he concluded.