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The government raised Rp 12 trillion ($1.34 billion) from the sale of rupiah-denominated bonds and bills on Tuesday, the biggest sale of such securities so far this year.

The government sold Rp 4.550 trillion of 7.375 percent bonds due in April 2042 to yield at 6.489 percent, the finance ministry said in a statement published on its Web site.

It also sold Rp 3.450 trillion of 7 percent bonds maturing in June 2027 to yield at 5.746 percent and Rp 2 trillion of 8.250 percent bonds due in June 2032 to yield at 6.178 percent.

Sales totaled Rp. 10.5 trillion on Jan. 26, the last day the bonds had been made available.

Some analysts attributed the demand from investors to the recent investment upgrade status on the country’s sovereign debt rating by Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings Agency.

Rahmat Waluyanto, director general of the debt management office at the finance ministry has said that foreign investors remain confident of the nation’s long-term economic prospects, which would attract them to enter the country’s secondary debt market, buying more Indonesia bonds.

The government has been selling rupiah and dollar-denominated bonds during the past few years to help cover its budget deficit. It has forecast the budget shortfall will narrow to 1.5 percent, or Rp 123.6 trillion, of gross domestic product this year. The deficit ratio is expected to be lower than the 1.8 percent ratio set for 2011.

The bond sales would be part of the government’s plans to raise Rp 53.2 trillion in debt sale in the first quarter this year, or 12 percent compared to the Rp 47.75 trillion raised in the same period last year.