Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia Mirza Adityaswara said that many Indonesian companies have been using foreign sources (whether bond sales or bank loans) for business expansion as foreign confidence in Indonesia's economic fundamentals has grown. Two of these examples are Lippo Karawaci, Indonesia's largest listed property company, which raised USD $150 million through a bond issuance this year and Tower Bersama Infrastructure, which announced to sell USD $500 million worth of bonds in 2015.

       January 2014  YoY Growth
Public Foreign Debt   USD $127.9 billion       +1.9%
Private Foreign Debt   USD $141.4 billion       +12%
Total Foreign Debt   USD $269.3 billion       +7.1%

Sources: Bank Indonesia

However, as the US dollar may appreciate further this year (amid continued US tapering and possible interest rate hikes in 2015), it implies higher interest rate payments for Indonesian companies. Furthermore, as the impact of changes in Federal Reserve monetary policy on emerging markets remains unknown, Adityaswara prefers a prudent domestic fiscal framework.

Bahas