Asian monies up, rupiah at week high<\/p>\n
Alan Yonan Jr., Dow Jones, Singapore<\/p>\n
Most Asian currencies advanced against the dollar Thursday, with
\nthe Indonesian rupiah rallying on the strength of fresh capital
\nflows into the country.<\/p>\n
The South Korean won was the only laggard, coming under
\npressure from foreign flows out of the stock market and rising
\noil prices.<\/p>\n
The rupiah posted its best performance in more than a week
\nafter Singapore Telecommunications announced it will pay US$429
\nmillion to increase its stake in Indonesia's biggest mobile phone
\ncompany, PT Telekomunikasi Selular.<\/p>\n
The SingTel announcement follows the acquisition last month of
\na 51 percent stake in Indonesia's Bank Central Asia by U.S.
\ninvestment firm Farallon Capital Management.<\/p>\n
Farallon is expected to complete its $530 million purchase of
\nits stake in BCA with a payment of more than $200 million by
\nApril 15.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian privatization effort is picking up momentum
\nwith the government hoping to raise between $750 million and $960
\nmillion this year from the sales of stakes in government-
\ncontrolled banks and other companies.<\/p>\n
\"These capital flows are quite positive for Indonesia and the
\nrupiah,\" said Nizam Idris, an analyst at the economic research
\nfirm IdeaGlobal.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia the dollar was quoted at Rp 9,680, down from Rp
\n9,800 late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
It was the rupiah's strongest close since March 27 when it
\nfinished trading at a six-month high of Rp 9,630 a dollar.<\/p>\n
Idris said he expected the dollar to find support around Rp
\n9,650 in the near term because of uncertainties surrounding a
\nmeeting of Indonesia's creditors next week.<\/p>\n
The so-called Paris Club group of creditors will consider a
\nrequest to roll over $5.5 billion in Indonesian debt.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar was supported by a better-than-expected
\nreport on March manufacturing activity and a stronger yen.<\/p>\n
Near the end of Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at
\nS$1.8400, down from S$1.8438 late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The monthly Purchasing Manager's Index, which is viewed as a
\nkey leading indicator of activity in the manufacturing sector,
\nrose to 52.4 percent in March, compared with 49.6 percent in
\nFebruary, exceeding analysts' forecasts of around 50 percent on
\naverage.<\/p>\n
The dollar slipped against the yen after failing to push
\ndecisively above the 133 yen level. Late in Asia the dollar was
\nquoted at 132.53 yen, below 132.72 yen late Wednesday in New
\nYork.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso was buoyed by the stronger yen and thin
\ncorporate demand for dollars. Sentiment toward the currency was
\nalso helped by an upward revision to the country's sovereign
\nrating outlook to stable from negative by Standard & Poor's Corp.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 51.140 peso on the Philippine Dealing
\nSystem, down from 51.150 peso Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The yen's advance against the dollar also underpinned the Thai
\nbaht.<\/p>\n
Near the end of Asian trading the dollar was quoted at 43.600
\nbath, down from 43.705 bath late Wednesday.<\/p>\n
However, Bank of America said the baht's gains will be limited
\nin the near term given the negative impact that higher oil prices
\nwill have on the currency.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar ended little changed as intervention by
\nthe central bank in support of the U.S. dollar offset the
\npositive impact of the stronger yen.<\/p>\n
The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.999 compared with the previous
\nclose of NT$35.002.<\/p>\n
In South Korea, the dollar closed at 1,330.5 won, up from
\n1,329.0 won Wednesday. Trade was tempered ahead of a long holiday
\nweekend, with the dollar moving in a narrow 1,329.4 won to
\n1,331.0 won range.<\/p>",
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