Indonesia's President Nominates Destry Damayanti as Central Bank Governor

Published Aug 11, 05:03 AM UTC

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has nominated Destry Damayanti, the long-time senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia (BI), to become the next central bank governor, replacing Perry Warjiyo who resigned unexpectedly last month for personal reasons. The nomination, submitted to the House of Representatives, is expected to be approved given Prabowo's majority. Destry, a seasoned economist and former chief economist at Bank Mandiri, would become the first permanent female governor of BI. The announcement gave a small boost to the rupiah, which gained 0.79% to close at 17,755 per U.S. dollar. The appointment comes amid fragile investor confidence due to Prabowo's high-spending populist policies, including a free meal program that has widened the fiscal deficit. Both Moody's and Fitch recently downgraded Indonesia's ratings outlook, citing policy uncertainty and erosion of credibility. Markets will watch whether Destry maintains BI's independence or yields to pressure to fund government programs.