Sri said most of the debts or US$90 billion of them belonged to non-banks while US$19 billion more to banks. She said most of the debts were long term reaching US$73.9 billion.
Manado, N Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s private foreign debts have been increasing even at a higher pace than during the monetary crisis in 1997 and 1998, according to Bank Indonesia.

"In February alone, the debts reached US$109.1 billion or around 32.7 percent higher than in 1997 and 1998 which was recorded at only around US$82.2 billion," the central bank`s manager of foreign debt administration and publication, Sri Endah Susilo Rini, said at a forum of partnership between corporations and Bank Indonesia here on Thursday.

Sri said most of the debts or US$90 billion of them belonged to non-banks while US$19 billion more to banks. She said most of the debts were long term reaching US$73.9 billion.

She said the short-term debts meanwhile totalled US$35.1 billion. "Most of the debts were made based on a loan agreement and long term with a more certain payment schedule," she said.

Sri said that the hike in the private foreign debts was also followed by a change in the characteristics of debtors who were initially dominated by national companies and state-owned enterprises but now by foreign companies and a mixture of national and foreign companies.

"The debt share of foreign companies and a mixture of foreign and national companies rose from 42 percent in 2006 to 48.8 percent in February 2012," she said.

She said although the trend of private foreign debts was on the rise the ratio of debt burden in general showed an improving trend.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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