JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia plans to require exporters of natural resources retain their export proceeds in the country for at least one year, up from the current three months, its chief economic minister said on Wednesday.
Airlangga Hartarto, coordinating minister of economic affairs, said the change was intended to bolster the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Under the current rules, introduced in 2023, natural resource exporters must keep 30% of the proceeds on every custom document for export worth at least $250,000 in the domestic financial system for three months.
It was unclear based on the local media reports whether the requirement details would be revised.
“One year is the minimum,” Airlangga was quoted as saying.
“We’re preparing (all regulations) to be issued within a timeframe of a month,” he added.
Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves were at an all time high of $155.7 billion at end-December, the central bank said. But the rupiah has been volatile due to capital outflows.
Last year, Airlangga said export retention rules were under review due to ongoing pressure on the rupiah. Sensitive to swings in market sentiment, the rupiah was often volatile in 2024, falling into its weakest since 2020 before recovering. It closed the year down 4.7% against dollar.
The rupiah has depreciated by 0.7% against the U.S. dollar this year.
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; editing by Bernadette Baum and Jason Neely)
