Jakarta, Oct 26 (ANTARA News) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said discussions about central government debt are increasingly popular among various groups of people, compared to 10 years ago.

"The sensitivity to debt 10 years ago was different from the current situation, possibly because there is social media," Sri Mulyani said, while giving a lecture at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta, on Friday.

The former World Bank managing director explained that the penetration of debt had also spread to various circles, including people living in rural areas.

Sri Mulyani said that when she participated in teaching at Central Jakarta 07 Kenari Elementary School, some students knew about debt.

She also said that government debt is one of the topics raised in political debate.

The political debate about debt, said Sri Mulyani, cannot be taken lightly. "I don`t want to be underestimated," she said.

According to the Ministry of Finance`s records, the central government`s total debt position until the end of September 2018 reached Rp4,416.37 trillion, consisting of foreign loans of Rp816.73 trillion, domestic loans of Rp6.38 trillion, state securities (SBN) denominated in rupiahs of Rp2.537 16 trillion and foreign currency denominated at SBN Rp1,056.10 trillion.

Until the end of September 2018, the realization of debt financing reached Rp304.94 trillion from Rp399.22 trillion, which was set in the 2018 State Budget, or 76.38 percent of the state budget.

When compared with the same period in 2017, the realization of debt financing experienced a negative growth of 21.62 percent.

In accordance with Law Number 17 of 2003 concerning State Finance, the number of loans is limited to a maximum of 60 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Reporting by Calvin Basuki
Editing by Eliswan

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Eliswan Azly
Copyright © ANTARA 2018