Jakarta unveils big bond sale scheme

Treading carefully: People are seen leaving the Bank Indonesia building in Jakarta. The central bank has said that it is mindful of the impact of its decisions on inflation. ―Bloomberg

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s central bank will purchase government bonds worth up to 439 trillion rupiah (US$30.46bil or RM128.65bil) in 2021 and 2022 to provide cheaper financing for the government’s Covid-19 relief measures, senior officials said.

The fiscal deficit financing scheme is similar to an agreement Bank Indonesia (BI) had with the finance ministry last year to fund ballooning healthcare and welfare bills amid the pandemic, which authorities said was a one-off measure.