Jakarta. Indonesia is considering raising the housing microloan cap to Rp 250 trillion (approximately $15.2 billion) next year if the state banks can disburse all the money allocated for this year, according to the sovereign fund Danantara.

Starting next month, state-owned banks -- all now under Danantara’s wings -- will begin disbursing microloans dedicated to boosting homeownership. This scheme is worth a total of Rp 130 trillion, meant to be disbursed for the remainder of the year. About Rp 117 trillion of that amount is meant for the supply side, like small-scale contractors and developers. Some Rp 13 trillion will go to the demand side, including the homeowners.

Danantara’s boss, Rosan Roeslani, revealed that the housing microloan cap could almost double in size next year, but only if the government-owned banks could disburse all Rp 130 trillion by the end of 2025.

“If the Rp 130 trillion gets absorbed [by the borrowers], we will increase its size next year, if God is willing. I would even raise the cap to up to Rp 250 trillion, as long as the absorption and procedure are clear,” Rosan told a conference in Jakarta on Tuesday evening.

State-owned banks have recently received a fund injection worth a total of Rp 200 trillion to spur lending. This marked the first-ever major economic move by the newly appointed Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who has been in the spotlight over the past week.

The money came from the unspent state funds that had been placed at the central bank. The state mortgage bank BTN secured Rp 25 trillion, while BNI, BRI, and Mandiri each got Rp 55 trillion. BSI, the Islamic bank born from the merger of the three aforementioned banks’ sharia units, received Rp 10 trillion. 

Any loan issued using the Rp 200 trillion deposit should be "productive". In other words, the money must be meant for export-oriented purposes and job creation. According to Rosan, the housing sector meets the job-making criterion, alluding to the fact that developers can also access the said money.

“The state-run banks besides BTN are also open to use the money [for the housing sector], as long as it qualifies as a productive loan," Rosan told the press.

The microloans came against the backdrop of President Prabowo Subianto's ambitious goal of building 3 million homes annually.

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