Indonesia's Gold Bar Reserves Lags Behind Singapore, Says SOEs Minister
Wed Feb 26 2025
The Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Erick Thohir, mentioned that Indonesia's gold bar reserve lags behind Singapore with 228 tons. Indonesia, he said, houses 201 tons of gold reserves.
"Our gold bar reserve remains inferior to that of Singapore,” said the PSSI boss in his speech at bullion banks at The Gade Tower, Jakarta, on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
Erick said Indonesia's gold bars currently held at the central bank amount to 80 tons, PT Pegadaian at 100 tons, and PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk at 17.5 tons. Nevertheless, he believed Indonesia’s gold production could grow due to the increasing yearly production.
He mentioned that in the past five years, Indonesia's gold production has reached 160 tons per year. If combined, he said, Indonesia's gold bar reserve could reach 440 tons. Meanwhile, Indonesia currently has 2,600 tons of gold reserves.
Upon the launch of bullion banks, he said the government wanted to invite the citizens to enjoy its services. He said the general public of Indonesia owns 1,800 tons of gold. “Some are stored under mattresses, some in the toilets or behind bricks. That’s the reality,” he said.
President Prabowo previously disclosed the reason for establishing bullion banks in Indonesia, saying that the lack of such services has caused gold to outflow abroad. Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto explained that the presence of a bullion bank is important to mitigate risks when the economy is unstable.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/