Under Pressure from Global Investors, Purbaya Fires Back with a Threat!

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa admitted that he was pressured by global investors some time ago, as they deemed him incapable of properly managing fiscal affairs.

Facing this pressure, he refuted claims that the current government is recklessly handling the state budget (APBN). On the contrary, it is increasingly resilient in facing potential crises while consistently maintaining economic growth.

“One of the questions from investors there was them pressuring us, saying if you’re not good, I’ll invest less, but they said it politely. But I told them our economic condition is good, don’t worry, invest,” said Purbaya at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday (5/5/2026).

In addition, Purbaya emphasised that when pressured by those Western investors, the government actually has many options to obtain financing from other investors, one of which is from China.

“I’ve also been to China, China is very interested in investing in us, we also have reciprocity there and the interest is lower at only 2.3%. So I gave them a signal that if you don’t want to, others do and it’s cheaper,” he explained.

Receiving this counter-statement, Purbaya said the global investors responded positively, as evidenced by the government’s ability to realise budget financing according to targets.

As of the end of March 2026, the Ministry of Finance, he said, has managed to realise state budget financing worth Rp 257.4 trillion to cover the state’s expenditure needs due to a budget deficit of 0.93% of GDP in the first three months of this year.

“So from a financing perspective, there’s no problem, investors are still interested in us and their confidence in us remains high,” he stated.

“Clearly, we have no difficulty in issuing debt securities or seeking funds for our development financing,” Purbaya asserted firmly.