Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa's plan to move IDR 200 trillion of state cash into commercial banks sends a positive signal: to pursue growth as targeted at the end of the third quarter. The business world underlines that this goal will only be achieved if the injection is truly targeted.

Minister Purbaya first mentioned the plan, which has been approved by President Prabowo Subianto, in front of Commission XI of the House of Representatives on Wednesday (10/9/2025). He said that the government's policy aims to mobilize the economy so that the goal of increasing economic growth with a target of 6% can be achieved soon, especially in the last quarter of 2025.

"I see that our financial system is rather dry, which is why the economy is slowing down. In the last two years, it has been difficult for people to find work and others because there have been mistakes in monetary and fiscal policy. I see the Ministry of Finance can play a role there," said Purbaya after attending a working meeting.

The remaining budget surplus (SAL) of IDR 200 trillion, which is part of the total IDR 425 trillion cash held at BI, will be injected into the national banking system. The hope is to increase liquidity, stimulate credit demand, and trigger the private sector to increase spending.

The State Treasurer stated that this step was taken for two reasons. First, fiscal and monetary policy had been too tight, resulting in a lack of liquidity in the economy. Second, BI has been quick to absorb the additional liquidity and put it in the state treasury.

"The government is diligent in collecting taxes, then it goes to the central bank. It would be fine if it was spent, but it's not. So, I force the market mechanism to run by giving them 'weapons', so that banks think harder not to burden the cost of funds and get higher returns ," he added.

Purbaya's expansive policy move follows that of his predecessor, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who disbursed IDR 16 trillion of the state budget's surplus budget balance (SAL) to finance the Merah Putih Cooperative through state-owned banks in early September 2025. With the President's approval, Purbaya said he would not wait too long to execute the plan.

"There is no timeframe for the process of transferring funds from the central bank to national banks. Tomorrow it will be in," said Purbaya in an interview after attending the Great Lecture on National Economic Reform in Jakarta, Thursday (11/09/2025).

Targeting the productive sector

The business world welcomed the plan to transfer IDR 200 trillion from the state treasury into the national banking system. Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) for Fiscal and Monetary Affairs Kamrussamad stated that this plan could provide a boost to the real sector, which has the potential to absorb capital and labor.

"The banking partnership with the business world has been prioritizing productive and labor-intensive sectors. If the government injects funds into banks, it is the duty of the banking industry to rotate them in industries with open market potential, such as food and beverages, the energy sector, property through public housing programs," said Kamrussamad when contacted by SUAR, Thursday (11/9/2025).

However, Kamrussamad admits that the impact on the real sector will not be instantaneous. This is because banks must also find ways to channel credit and set interest rates in accordance with their business plan calculations and Bank Indonesia regulations.

The impact on the real sector will not be instantaneous. This is because banks must also find ways to channel credit and set interest rates in accordance with their business plan calculations.

"The determination [of lending] has various variables and macro and microeconomic indicators, considering global and domestic challenges, including people's purchasing power. However, one thing is clear, an increase in the circulation of funds in the community will automatically encourage banking competition to reduce interest rates so that people want to shop," he said.

Comprehensive approach

Although the plan to inject half of the state's cash into the bank looks promising, skepticism that underlines the effectiveness of the policy must still be considered. Program and Policy Director of Prasasti Center for Policy Studies Piter Abdullah assessed that there is a difference between banking liquidity and liquidity in the economy.

"The liquidity of large banks, especially state-owned banks, is quite high. They are not experiencing liquidity difficulties, because their liquidity ratio is very high far above the safe limit. This means that the low lending so far is not because they do not have liquidity so that injection must be assisted," said Piter when contacted by SUAR, Thursday (11/9/2025).

Under such circumstances, Piter assessed that the injection of Rp 200 trillion into the national banking system would not be effective in changing the situation significantly, instead it could help the real sector instantly. "If it is not followed by easing policies in the monetary sector, the Rp200 trillion injection policy will not move the economy," he said.

Agreeing with Piter, CORE Indonesia Executive Director Mohammad Faisal assessed that the effectiveness of the liquidity injection depends on the readiness of the upstream industry in the real sector to receive and utilize it through banks.

"In addition to having a strategy, policy direction, and stronger incentives to convince the real sector, there must also be a strengthening of demand from the community that allows the real sector to submit credit requests," Faisal told SUAR, Thursday (11/9).

"There must be a strengthening of demand from the public that allows the real sector to submit credit requests," Faisal said.

He considered that policies to drive the economy cannot stand alone, but must be accompanied by supporting policies that help banks channel these funds to the real sector.

"The bottleneck so far lies in the demand for credit from the real sector. This side must also be improved, because from experience so far, weak demand [from the real sector] has made banks not disburse credit," he concluded.

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) Chairperson Shinta Kamdani supports the president's decision to appoint Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa as Minister of Finance. She asked Purbaya to maintain industrial competitiveness and job creation - amidst uncertain global dynamics.

With his track record, Apindo hopes that Purbaya can continue the fiscal strengthening measures with the spirit of change. The business world is ready to collaborate with the government because the business world is the engine of collaboration.