Indonesia Names Suahasil Nazara As Finance Minister After Purbaya Dismissal

According to CNBC, Indonesia has appointed Suahasil Nazara as finance minister after President Prabowo Subianto fired Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, marking the country's third finance minister in two years and drawing fresh scrutiny to fiscal and monetary policy. Nazara, who was sworn in hours after the dismissal, previously served seven years as deputy finance minister and led the ministry's fiscal policy agency from 2015 to 2019. Analysts said the move could help restore confidence after a difficult year for Purbaya, during which credit-rating outlooks were cut and the rupiah fell to historic lows. Qi Hang Tay of the Economist Intelligence Unit said Nazara's experience and ties to the Sri Mulyani era reduce transition risk, while Gareth Leather of Capital Economics called the appointment a welcome development but said more evidence of policy improvement is needed. Nazara said he would protect the budget's credibility and keep the deficit below 3% of GDP.