Indonesia wants foreigners to own less bonds in long run

The rupiah is down almost 9% against the dollar this year, falling to as low as 14,945 early this month and making it the second-worst performer in Asia.

JAKARTA: Indonesia, rattled by a global emerging market selloff, wants to halve the foreign ownership of its sovereign bonds in five years as the government seeks to shield its assets from external shocks.

The Finance Ministry is seeking to bring down the amount of government bonds owned by offshore funds to 20% from almost 38%, Scenaider Siahaan, director of debt portfolio and strategy at the ministry, said by phone on Tuesday. With foreign investors still jittery about putting their money into emerging markets, the government considers it as an ideal time to widen domestic ownership, he said.