Chinese overseas lending / IDN
Indonesia: debt owed to China
In 2021, Indonesia is estimated to have owed China $18.10bn, equal to 1.5% of its GDP, which ranks it 7 of 126 borrowers in the panel by dollars owed. The estimated stock peaked at $19.84bn in 2018.
The estimated stock, 2000 to 2021
The largest single-year move in the estimated stock is 2017, when it rose by $3.06bn.
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending. Selection: estimated stock owed to China by Indonesia, by year and instrument, 2000 to 2021. Zeros are estimated zeros (no known loans outstanding), not missing values. Methodology
Historical loan records from the 2021 release
These records come from the 2021 HRT Mendeley replication release, not the November 2025 refreshed stock panel charted above. The refresh uses the updated Franz, Horn, Parks, Reinhart and Trebesch methodology, so this table cannot be reconciled to the chart. The earlier release marks 32 loan-level records for Indonesia as part of its debt-estimate sample, spanning 2003 to 2017. Comparable commitments are available for 32 of those loans and sum to $12.00bn. These are gross commitments, not outstanding debt stocks. The stock methodology applies disbursement and amortisation profiles, with imputation where loan terms are missing, so the commitment sum must not be compared with the stock above. See the methodology. Terms are sparse by source: interest rate appears on 6 loans, grace period on 11, maturity on 12, any of the three on 13, and all three together on 5. The earlier file also carries 33 additional project rows for Indonesia outside that sample, so they are not included in this table.
| Year | Project | Commitment, USD | Commitment, source currency | Terms | Creditor | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park Captive Coal-Fired Power Plant (300MW) ID: IDN_65 · Source: BU Energy | $700m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SPV |
| 2016 | Java-7 Coal-Fired Power Plant (2000MW) ID: IDN_64 · Source: BU Energy | $1.80bn | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SPV |
| 2016 | Bengkulu Power Station ID: IDN_63 · Source: BU Energy | $270m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Development Bank (CDB), China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SPV |
| 2015 | Bangko Tengah, aka South Sumatra 8 or Sumsel-8 ID: IDN_59 · Source: BU Energy | $1.20bn | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SPV |
| 2015 | Jambi DSS Power Station ID: IDN_61 · Source: BU Energy | $500m | n/a | rate 3% | grace 7y | maturity 15y | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SPV |
| 2015 | China contributes $160 million for tallest Indonesian building ID: IDN_60 · Source: AidData | $160m | USD 160,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Private sector |
| 2015 | Kendari-3 Power Station (100MW) ID: IDN_62 · Source: BU Energy | $150m | n/a | rate n/a | grace 3y | maturity 13y | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SPV |
| 2014 | Exim Bank loans $317m to Indonesia for Pangkalan Susu Steam Coal Power Plant ID: IDN_58 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $317m | USD 317,000,000 | rate 3% | grace 5y | maturity 15y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower SOE |
| 2014 | Exim Bank loans $240m to Indonesia for Takalar Steam Coal Power Plant ID: IDN_57 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $241m | USD 240,983,647 | rate 3% | grace 5y | maturity 15y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower SOE |
| 2014 | China Exim's Bank to loan Indonesia USD 235 million for Cileunyi - Sumedang - Dawuan Toll Road Phase 2 ID: IDN_51 · Source: AidData | $235m | USD 235,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2014 | China loans $200 million to Indonesia for toll road project ID: IDN_53 · Source: AidData | $200m | USD 200,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2014 | China's EXIM Bank loans Indonesia USD 185.474 million for Procurement of Track Material and Turn Out - Phase II ID: IDN_55 · Source: AidData | $185m | USD 185,474,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2014 | China's Exim Bank to loan Indonesia $150 million for the improvement in railway double tracking and signalling (Surabaya) ID: IDN_56 · Source: AidData | $150m | USD 150,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2014 | China provides 1.1T IDR loan to Indonesia for Manado-Bitung Toll Road ID: IDN_54 · Source: AidData | $93m | IDR 1,100,000,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | China Development Bank loan for construction of Cilacap power plant extension ID: IDN_49 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $700m | USD 700,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity 11y | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | Teluk Sirih Sumbar Coal-Fired Power Plant (224MW) Station ID: IDN_50 · Source: BU Energy | $138m | n/a | rate 3% | grace 7y | maturity 15y | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SOE |
| 2012 | Celukan Bawang ID: IDN_47 · Source: BU Energy | $473m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | China Development Bank commits $318 million to Indonesia for Sumsel-5 power plant ID: IDN_48 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $318m | USD 318,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SPV |
| 2011 | Tanjung Kasam Power Station with Sinosure ID: IDN_46 · Source: BU Energy | $150m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2011 | China Exim Bank provides $133 million loan to Indonesia for construction of Parit Baru power plant ID: IDN_44 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $133m | USD 133,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2009 | Adipala Power Station ID: IDN_35 · Source: BU Energy | $625m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SOE |
| 2009 | China Exim Bank loans Indonesia 481 million USD for construction of Pelabuhan Ratu power station ID: IDN_37 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $481m | USD 481,000,000 | rate n/a | grace 3y | maturity 15y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SOE |
| 2009 | BoC funded US$455 million for Banten Lontar power plant ID: IDN_36 · Source: AidData | $455m | USD 455,000,000 | rate n/a | grace 3y | maturity 13y | Bank of China (BOC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SOE |
| 2009 | China loans US$371.5 million to Indonesia for Tanjung Awar-Awar power plant ID: IDN_40 · Source: AidData | $372m | USD 371,500,000 | rate n/a | grace 3y | maturity 13y | Bank of China (BOC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SOE |
| 2009 | Exim Bank loan for construction of 2x315MW Pacitan power plant ID: IDN_42 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $293m | USD 293,000,000 | rate n/a | grace 3y | maturity 12y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SOE |
| 2009 | Exim Bank export buyer's credit for construction of Aceh power plant ID: IDN_41 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $124m | USD 124,000,000 | rate n/a | grace 3y | maturity 15y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SOE |
| 2008 | Exim Bank loans USD 330million to Indonesia for construction of 660MW Paiton power plant ID: IDN_32 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $330m | USD 330,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SOE |
| 2008 | Loan for construction of 625MW Banten Suralaya power plant ID: IDN_33 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $280m | USD 280,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower SOE |
| 2008 | Rembang Power Station ID: IDN_34 · Source: BU Energy | $131m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SOE |
| 2005 | Loan for construction of Jatigede dam in West Java ID: IDN_24 · Source: AidData, BU Energy | $227m | USD 227,000,000 | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2004 | Exim Bank export buyer's credit loan for construction of Suramadu bridge ID: IDN_14 · Source: AidData | $160m | USD 160,000,000 | rate 3% | grace 7y | maturity 15y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2003 | Bank of China loan for construction of 2x300MW Cilacap power plant ID: IDN_6 · Source: AidData | $408m | USD 408,000,000 | rate 3.8% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | Bank of China (BOC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower SPV |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (2021 Mendeley replication loan file). Selection: 2021 replication loan records mapped to Indonesia and flagged DebtEstimateSample = 1 in that release. This is an earlier source universe, not the records used for the November 2025 refreshed stock panel. CommitmentUSD is a gross commitment flow and is not comparable to the charted stock. Commitment stays in its source currency, and ProjectDescription is rendered as free-text data from the file. Methodology
Against what Indonesia reports owing to all creditors
Indonesia reported $417.85bn of total external debt to all creditors in 2021, of which $242.63bn is public and publicly guaranteed. The China estimate is 4.3% of the reported external total and 3.1% of the reported public and guaranteed stock. These are ratios of two different measurements, one estimated and one borrower-reported, and they are not a share of a single consistent total.
| Measure, 2021 | Estimated, owed China | Reported, all creditors | Ratio, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total external debt | $18.10bn | $417.85bn | 4.3% |
| Public and publicly guaranteed | $7.51bn | $242.63bn | 3.1% |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (estimated stocks), and World Bank International Debt Statistics, borrower-reported via the Debtor Reporting System (all-creditor stocks). Selection: estimated external and PPG stock owed to China in 2021 against Indonesia's reported DT.DOD.DECT.CD and DT.DOD.DPPG.CD for the same year. Drawn swap balances are excluded from the estimated column: they are a central-bank liability the Debtor Reporting System's long-term-debt concepts do not carry. Methodology