President Says Indonesia Rejects IMF Loan, Chooses Greater Fiscal Independence

Indonesia has turned down an offer of a loan from the International Monetary Fund, President Prabowo Subianto said, presenting the decision as a choice to strengthen the country’s fiscal independence.

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I think a few months ago I was surprised that our finance minister in Washington, D.C., was offered a loan from the IMF. We rejected it. Thank you, but Indonesia can still manage without an IMF loan.

Prabowo said the offer came several months earlier through Indonesia’s finance minister in Washington. “I think a few months ago I was surprised that our finance minister in Washington, D.C., was offered a loan from the IMF. We rejected it. Thank you, but Indonesia can still manage without an IMF loan,” he said.

Speaking at the closing of the 35th congress of Nahdlatul Ulama in East Java, Prabowo said the government remained open to investment. Borrowing, however, would be limited and guided by financing costs. “We are now trying not to borrow too much money from everywhere. Investment is welcome. If we borrow money, we want to borrow at the lowest possible interest rate,” he said.

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We are now trying not to borrow too much money from everywhere. Investment is welcome. If we borrow money, we want to borrow at the lowest possible interest rate.

The president said the government’s transformation strategy seeks to raise public welfare and move as many Indonesians as possible out of poverty. He said the government had carefully calculated the plan and was confident it would succeed, adding that progress toward the target had begun to show during the first two years of his administration.

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We must be brave, and I have calculated everything carefully down to the rupiah. I have calculated it, and I am confident and believe we will succeed.