Jakarta. Sovereign wealth fund Danantara said Thursday that the China train debt talks were still ongoing, despite claims by presidential economic advisor Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan that Jakarta had reached a restructuring deal with Beijing.

Indonesia is trying to repay the Chinese loans that the country had taken out to construct the $7.3 billion Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, Whoosh. Local news outlet Kompas, quoting Luhut, revealed that Beijing had said yes to having the loans payable over 60 years. Luhut used to lead the bullet train committee between 2021 and 2023.

However, Danantara’s chief operating officer, Dony Oskaria, said that the discussions on the refinancing scheme are still taking place.

“That includes regarding the terms, repayment period, interests, and currencies [to be used to pay off the debt]. We will decide on the best option,” Dony told reporters in Jakarta. 

Dony said every alternative has its pros and cons, including the possibility of handing over the bullet train’s infrastructure to the government. 

According to him, Indonesia has established a negotiating team comprising the government and Danantara, which will soon travel to China for another round of talks. Dony remained upbeat that Indonesia could find a solution by the end of the year.

“We will keep on negotiating, but what the public needs to know is they need not to worry,” Dony said.

He went on to say that Whoosh has a daily ridership of between 20,000 and 30,000 passengers. According to Dony, the train’s operator, KCIC, has registered “a positive operational performance”. 

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train was among the major infrastructure legacies of former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who launched the project in October 2023.

KCIC is a joint venture led by two consortia representing both nations. PSBI, a consortium of four Indonesian state-run enterprises, holds a 60 percent stake in KCIC, while the remaining goes to Chinese businesses. State railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) holds a 58.53 percent stake in PSBI, making it the biggest bearer of the financial burden. 

Indonesia had taken out loans from the government-owned China Development Bank to cover 75 percent of the total costs. The loans had interest rates of 2 percent on the principal and 3.4 percent on the overrun costs, which reached a whopping $1.2 billion. KCIC bankrolled 25 percent of the project using its own funds. 

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has ruled out using state funds to pay the bill, saying that Danantara had enough dividends to repay around Rp 2 trillion ($120.3 million) each year. 

Danantara now has all state-owned enterprises, including KAI, under its wings.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun recently told the press that assessing a high-speed railway project would require one to consider many factors.

"Apart from the financial figures and economic indicators, one must also take into account its public benefit and comprehensive returns," Guo said.

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