JAKARTA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia, has increased its purchases of government securities and urged banks to lower lending rates, a top official said on Wednesday.
Governor of Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo stated that Bank Indonesia's total purchase of government securities reached 124.33 trillion rupiahs as of June 17, an increase of 27.9 trillion rupiahs from May.
"Bank Indonesia also purchases government securities from the secondary market to expand monetary policy liquidity and to reflect the close synergy between the government's monetary and fiscal policies," he said at a press conference on Wednesday.
He also emphasized that banks must lower their lending rates to accelerate loan disbursement.
"Bank Indonesia believes that bank lending rates need to continue to decline so they can provide the credit financing required to support national economic growth," Warjiyo said.
He noted that loan growth slowed in May, with credit expanding by only 8.43 percent year-on-year, down from 8.88 percent in April.
Indonesia's economy is projected to grow by 4.6 to 5.4 percent in 2025, according to the central bank. ■
