To bolster the Rupiah, Purbaya admits to intervening in the government bond market since last week

Jakarta, VIVA – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said that, in an effort to help strengthen the rupiah, his ministry has begun intervening in the government bond market since last week.

“From Thursday last week, a little; yesterday a little more. Now I will see again how it goes,” Purbaya said at the Ministry of Finance, Jakarta, on Tuesday, 19 May 2026.

He confirmed that the government has set aside a fund of up to Rp 2 trillion per day to buy government bonds.

However, Purbaya acknowledged that the actual purchases have been relatively small, having absorbed around Rp 600 billion. Thus, in his view, selling pressure in the government bond market has not been too large.

“Yesterday I had targeted Rp 2 trillion, but only got Rp 600 billion. In other words, the number of sellers is also relatively small,” Purbaya said.

He explained that to date the government has merely been conducting cash management as part of the effort to strengthen the rupiah.

He admitted that he has not yet used the bond stabilization framework, which if implemented would involve other institutions such as PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI).

“This is just cash management. If there is a framework, I will call SMI and others to participate. But for now it is not as severe as that; it is relatively manageable,” he said.

It is known that previously the move to intervene in the bond market had been voiced by Purbaya as one of the government’s strategies to strengthen the rupiah against the US dollar. Through this approach, he hopes the rupiah can appreciate again in the near term.

“I will enter the bond market every day. I am targeting Rp 2 trillion per day. So going forward the rupiah should be more stable,” he said.