Indonesia to make exporters deposit earnings in state banks, finance ministry says
An aerial view of PT Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 4, 2017. REUTERS/Beawiharta
JAKARTA, Dec 8 : Indonesia plans from January 1 to require natural resource exporters to retain all foreign currency earnings in state-owned banks for at least a year, and limit their use, finance ministry officials said on Monday.
Indonesia has for years been trying to make exporters keep their earnings in the domestic banking system for longer, hoping it could boost U.S. dollar supplies onshore and help keep the rupiah exchange rate stable.
Jakarta's most recent changes to the earnings retention rules were introduced in early 2025.
Under the current rules, exporters must for at least one year keep proceeds from sales of natural resources like coal, palm oil and nickel within the Indonesian banking system, including privately-owned banks.
The proceeds could be used for business operations, such as dividend payments, loans or the procurement of raw materials, if converted into rupiah.
But the new regulation would cap such conversions to a maximum of 50 per cent, said the head of the finance ministry's fiscal policy office, Febrio Kacaribu. There is no cap in place at present.
Purbaya said the new limit was to prevent exporters from converting their money back into foreign currencies and placing them in deposits abroad, adding that supervising state banks would also be easier.
"The goal is to make sure export earnings really effectively increase U.S. dollar supply here," he said.
Kacaribu said policymakers have run consultations with bankers and exporters.
