Jakarta – The Indonesian government plans to discreetly inject additional funds into two state-owned banks, bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), according to Finance Minister Purbaya yudhi Sadewa. The move aims to boost economic liquidity without triggering public concern, following an initial placement of IDR 200 trillion across five state-owned banks.
Purbaya indicated the decision stems from a desire to accelerate base money (M0) growth towards an ideal rate of 20%, currently standing at 13% after rising from near 0%. He emphasized that these fund transfers are not fiscal expansion or budget alterations, but rather an optimization of existing funds to stimulate private sector growth. “Ideally it would be 20% less. I still have another IDR 250 trillion in the central bank, we’ll see what it’s like,” Purbaya stated.
To avoid potential misinterpretations and public backlash, Purbaya confirmed future placements will be conducted without public announcement. ”Even if we wont to add more, we won’t tell you now because the money operation is normal again, because then many people will protest ‘Purbaya is moving money carelessly, using the budget carelessly’, because they don’t understand that I’m just moving money, it has nothing to do with changes to the budget,” he explained. “I didn’t change the budget at all, nor did I carry out fiscal expansion. This is just optimizing the money for economic growth so that the private sector can grow.”
The Minister added that only regional development banks (BPD) will be excluded from this secretive approach to further fund allocation.
(aid/hns)