Purbaya pushes back against rating warning

Accelerating economy: Purbaya at the recent Indonesia Economic Summit in Jakarta. The finance minister reiterated his pledge to keep Indonesia’s budget deficit manageable through efficient spending on Prabowo’s priority programmes. — Bloomberg

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa pushed back after Moody’s Ratings lowered the outlook on the nation’s credit rating to “negative” and triggered further selling of local stocks, bonds and the rupiah.

Indonesia’s Baa2 rating outlook was cut last Thursday from stable on concerns of policy uncertainty and weakening governance under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.