JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s central bank said it will increase to 80 trillion rupiah ($4.9 billion) the amount of liquidity freed up by reducing reserve requirements for banks that lend to the property sector, to support the government’s housing goal.
Bank Indonesia (BI) has been using similar liquidity measures to spur credit growth since 2023, by reducing the reserves banks are required to hold if they lend to sectors that are important for economic growth.
The value of the liquidity measure for property loans is currently 23.2 trillion rupiah and will gradually rise to 80 trillion, Governor Perry Warjiyo said late on Tuesday.
“This is a form of Bank Indonesia’s commitment to fully support the president’s programmes,” Warjiyo told a press conference after meeting with representatives of the government and parliament.”We see that the housing sector will provide support for high economic growth and job creation,” he said, adding that further support measures would be announced later.President Prabowo Subianto wants to build 3 million affordable houses each year. Last month, the government signed a deal with a Qatari investor to construct a million homes.
Warjiyo spoke after he had met with Housing Minister Maruarar Sirait, State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, lawmaker Mukhamad Misbakhun and Pandu Sjahrir, who was representing the new state investment agency Danantara.
BI data shows that as of the second week of January, the various reductions on reserve requirements for lending to sectors including agriculture, trade, manufacturing, tourism and construction had freed up 295 trillion rupiah of liquidity.
($1 = 16,370 rupiah)
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman, Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by John Mair)
