Prabowo Spooks Bond Investors, Raising Stakes for Finance Chief
- Sri Mulyani won plaudits for tackling Indonesia’s debt load
- Yields surged on fears new administration would boost spending
Prabowo Subianto
Photographer: Christopher Pike/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The fate of Indonesia’s jittery bond market may well hinge on who President-elect Prabowo Subianto chooses as his finance minister.
A technocrat like incumbent Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a former World Bank managing director credited with tackling the debt load, will be crucial for avoiding another costly run-up in yields, according to investors. That happened last month, with the cost of insuring the country’s debt against default also surging, on news that Prabowo was mulling an increase in spending that would push the debt load to a two-decade high.