JAKARTA - Indonesia's External Debt (ULN) as of January 2023 slumped 1.88% to US$ 404.9 billion from the same period in 2022 of US$ 412.67 billion. However, the debt position is higher than December 2022 of US$ 396.82 billion.

In a press release conveyed on Tuesday (14/3), Erwin Haryono, Executive Director of the Communication Department of Bank Indonesia (BI) said that the contraction in the debt position in January 2023 repeated continuing to reduce by 4.41% in December 2022 which was recorded at US $ 396.82 billion against external debt in December 2021 of US$ 413.97 billion.

"The contraction in debt from the government and private sector external debt was also affected by the weakening of the United States dollar (US$) against global currencies including the IDR," he said.

The government's external debt in January 2023 was recorded at US$ 203.63 billion, down from the same period in 2022 of US$ 208.29 billion. Private external debt was 201.24 billion, down from US$ 204.76 billion.

He conveyed that the government is committed to managing external debt in a prudent, credible and accountable manner, including maintaining credibility in fulfilling obligations to pay debt principal and interest on time. (LK/LM)