Jakarta. Indonesia’s natural resource exporters can domestically hold their proceeds using Chinese yuan, according to the central bank, as bilateral transactions in local currencies gain momentum.

In about a week from now, most exporters of natural resources must park their earnings onshore for at least a year. Indonesia, however, will accept the Chinese yuan as an alternative to the greenback.

“The retention policies have mainly focused on the dollar, but [exporters] may select non-USD currencies. ... Our local currency transactions with China are the largest,” Bank Indonesia governor Perry Warjiyo said in a briefing with industry associations in Jakarta on Thursday. 

In recent years, businesses in China and Indonesia have settled transactions in either rupiah or yuan, thanks to an agreement sealed by their respective central banks. They have expanded the scope to cover all balance-of-payments items. 

According to Perry’s estimates, Indonesia-China local currency transactions topped $25 billion throughout 2025. This year, monthly transactions hit $3.7 billion. Perry went on to explain that the partnership with the Chinese central bank had “enabled spot, swap, and forward transactions in yuan”.

Despite maintaining close ties with Washington, Indonesia has been pivoting away from the dollar by striking local currency deals to reduce its reliance on the greenback. 

The new retention rule states that natural resource exporters must repatriate 100% of their proceeds and keep them in state-run banks for no less than 12 months. Oil exporters only need to place 30% of their receipts onshore for at least 3 months. Businesses may use 50% of the earnings for business operations if converted into rupiah.

Jakarta is offering greater flexibility for miners covered by bilateral trade agreements, as they have the option to store the cash in non-state banks. Senior minister Airlangga Hartarto admitted that the US-bound mining exports would be eligible for this special treatment. Perry had signaled that American banks could also take part in the retention. It is unclear whether this treatment will expand to mining exports to Beijing.

Indonesia’s exports to China totaled $16.9 billion in January-March 2026, government data showed.

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