The Government of Indonesia offers debt securities in four forms: (i) promissory notes issued to Bank Indonesia (BI), (ii) hedge bonds, (iii) fixed-rate bonds, and (iv) variable-rate bonds.

Promissory notes are zero-coupon perpetual obligations of the Government to BI and are not traded on the market. Hedge bonds are non-tradable bonds issued to banks to hedge their net open positions.

Hedge bond tenors are between 3 months and 3 years, with a coupon at the 3-month Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) plus 2%. The coupon is payable quarterly and linked to the rupiah–dollar exchange rate.

In September 2002, the Government Debt Securities Law established a legal framework for issuing both domestic and external debt securities, and authorized the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to issue treasury bonds. Since 2003, MOF has issued treasury bonds of various maturities, with both fixed and floating rate coupons, in an effort to create a meaningful government yield curve.

In May 2007, the Government issued its first treasury bills with a 12-month tenor and a total value of IDR2 trillion. The Government issues treasury bills to maintain bond market stability, bolster liquidity, and fund the budget deficit.

In March 2011, the Government issued treasury bills with a 3-month tenor, a move aimed at deepening the market for short-term financial instruments.

Prior to the advent of treasury bills, the Sertifikat Bank Indonesia (SBI) was the main tool used by BI for open-market operations. SBIs were issued by BI to control the liquidity of the banking system. SBIs remain the most actively traded money market instrument in Indonesia. Beginning June 2010, SBI certificates are auctioned on a monthly basis with maturities of 28, 91, and 182 days. BI also issues 28-day shari'a-compliant SBIs on a monthly basis.

In November 2010, BI stopped issuing 3-month SBIs and instead began offering term deposit instruments to aborb excess bank liquidity and limit foreign holdings. Subsequently, in February 2011, BI announced that it would no longer issue SBIs with maturities of less than 9-months.

Corporate debt instruments consist of bonds issued by corporations, including state-owned entities. Most corporate bonds are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). Corporate issues may be offered in the form of conventional bonds or shari'a-compliant instruments.

Shari’a securities are structured as revenue-sharing instruments that conform to shari’a principles by not recognizing interest payments. These securities—including drafts, shari’a bonds, and shari’a mutual fund certificates—are usually traded in money and capital markets.

The passage of the Islamic Shari’a Debt Bill in April 2008 allowed the Government to issue Islamic bonds and tap new sources of funding to help finance the Government's budget deficit. MOF issued its first 7- and 10-year sukuks (Islamic certificates) to institutional investors in August 2008 and launched its first retail Islamic bond in February 2009. MOF also plans to issue global sukuks.