Indonesia imposes currency restrictions on exporters
2023.01.25 04:25
Indonesia imposes currency restrictions on exporters
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – A top government official was quoted by the media on Wednesday as saying that Indonesia plans to require exporters to keep their foreign exchange earnings in the local banking industry for three months.
Airlangga Hartarto, the chief economics minister, was quoted by mainstream media outlets as saying that the government was discussing the plan with the central bank and that a review of the current requirements for export earnings was nearly finished.
A request for clarification was not immediately met by the spokesperson for his ministry.
He stated earlier this month that Indonesia was considering revising a 2019 regulation requiring natural resource exporters to keep earnings in a special account at domestic banks, possibly with a minimum holding period. Additionally, he stated that it might be extended to include manufacturing exporters.
Thermal coal and palm oil are the most widely exported commodities from Indonesia. It also exports a lot of rubber, nickel, and tin, among other things.
Separately, Bank Indonesia (BI) plans to introduce a brand-new FX instrument for banks the following month.
Monetary policymakers stated that in order to encourage exporters to keep earnings onshore for a longer period of time, BI will pay a premium interest rate for the U.S. dollar and banks will be permitted to pass on exporters’ deposits to the central bank.
