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AKARTA: The Indonesian central bank has announced that as of June this year, the country’s external debt amounted to US$323.8 billion, having grown 6.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Of the total, public sector external debt growth soared, while private sector debt decreased, a Bank Indonesia (BI) release on Monday showed.

“With this development, the ratio of external debt to gross domestic product [GDP] at the end of the second quarter this year registered at 36.8 percent, a slight increase from 36.6 percent at the end of the first quarter,” the release said.

The bulk of Indonesia’s external debt was with the private sector. As of June, private sector external debt reached $165.1 billion (51 percent of total external debt), while public sector debt was $158.7 billion (49 percent). However, the public sector debt grew higher by 17.9 percent year-on-year (yoy) as of June, accelerating from 14 percent yoy in the previous month. On the other hand, private sector debt declined 3.1 percent yoy, more than the 0.5 percent in the previous quarter.

In the private sector, the external debt position was mainly concentrated in the financial, manufacturing, mining, gas and water supply and electricity sectors. Combined, the debt from these sectors accounted for 75.9 percent.

“Bank Indonesia views the development of external debt at the end of June as remaining healthy, but continues to be vigilant about the risks to the national economy,” it said in the release. — JP