JAKARTA. The Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) noted that Indonesia's outstanding government debt reached Rp 4,778 trillion by the end of December 2019, 8.14% (Rp 360 trillion) than its position at the end of 2018.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani acknowledged this fact, which was mainly caused by the fact that the state budget deficit rose from 1.84% of GDP to 2.2% of GDP.
Throughout 2019, the realization of debt financing reached Rp 435.4 trillion, higher than its value in 2018 (Rp 372 trillion).
Even so, the ratio of government debt is maintained at 29.8% of GDP. The ratio, according to Sri Mulyani, is relatively low when compared to neighbouring countries, such as Philippines (38.9%), Malaysia (55.6%), even Singapore (113.6%). (AM/AR)