Indonesia eyes up to US$1.46b in loans to fund projects in early 2016: official

[JAKARTA] Indonesia is looking for loans of as much as 20 trillion rupiah (US$1.46 billion) to help finance projects that should start early in 2016, a Finance Ministry official said on Friday. "We are still exercising the means, it can be raised from local private placement (of bonds) or global (borrowing). There is a chance we might pick global," Scenaider Siahaan, director of borrowing strategy at the ministry told reporters.

He did not specify which projects would be involved. By early next year, the government aims to start many infrastructure projects.

As of September, the government had only spent 28 per cent of this year's planned capital expenditure. Officials have said revenue this year will be well below the budget targets.

REUTERS