Jakarta. Indonesian state-owned enterprises have raised a total of $3.6 billion from sales of dollar-denominated bonds to pay back existing debts and finance some strategic projects.

Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum), the state-owned mining holding company, has raised $2.5 billion, according to a statement from the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry on Tuesday.

Before that, state-controlled construction company Hutama Karya had raised $600 million while Bank Mandiri, the country's second-largest lender by assets, had raised $500 million. 

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir said Inalum's bond issuance in particular showed sustained confidence in Indonesia's economic prospects. 

"In general, the international community still has trust in Indonesia under [President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's] leadership," Erick said in a statement.

Inalum, which controls Indonesia's largest gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesia, plans to use the majority of the bond sale proceeds to refinance $1 billion worth of bonds due this year. 

Some of the proceeds would be used to fund Inalum's smelter-grade alumina refinery in Mempawah, which is capable of processing 1 million tons of alumina, or aluminum oxide, into aluminum ingots per year. 

The remainder would be used to pay for the South Sumatra Mine Mouth 8 power plant and a coal gasification plant project in Tanjung Enim, also in South Sumatra. 

Last week, Bank Mandiri's bond issuance was oversubscribed by almost five times, pushing its bidding value to $2.4 billion, mostly offers from investors in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Hutama Karya's bond issuance was also oversubscribed by nearly six times last week. The construction company plans to use the proceeds to finance the construction of the Trans Sumatra toll road. 

Inalum, Bank Mandiri and Hutama Karya have been following the government's instruction to tap liquidity in the global market as central banks in the United States, Europe and Asia ramp up buying of financial assets to stem financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus crisis. 

The Indonesian government raised $4.3 billion from issuing US dollar-denominated global bonds, including the first 50-year sovereign dollar bond in Asia, on April 7, to pay for the country's pandemic mitigation efforts.