Rupiah unchanged despite Paris Club agreement<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The South Korean won tumbled under the
\nweight of a stock market sell-off Friday, while the Singapore
\ndollar spiked up on reports of intervention by local monetary
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah remained in relatively good shape but
\nalmost unchanged one day after the government reached an
\nagreement with the Paris Club group of creditor nations to
\nreschedule $5.8 billion worth of sovereign debt.<\/p>\n
The debt rescheduling, almost US$2.2 billion of which is
\nslated to take place this year, is contingent upon the successful
\ncompletion of an International Monetary Fund review by June 5 at
\nthe latest, an IMF official said.<\/p>\n
The IMF is optimistic it can resume lending to Indonesia by
\nlate-May, after delaying its latest $400 million loan
\ndisbursement over Indonesia 's failure to keep pace with its
\nreform program.<\/p>\n
At the close of trading in Jakarta, the dollar was at Rp
\n7,623, up from Rp 7,600 late Thursday.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the region, currencies were lower in light
\ntrading. South Korea's Kospi index plunged 4.7 percent Friday as
\nstocks across Asia moved lower in the wake of Wall Street's
\nrecent downturn.<\/p>\n
The won fell to its lowest level in more than a week as
\nforeign investors pulled their money out of stocks, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Opinion was divided over what impact Thursday's general
\nelections in South Korea would have on the market. Some analysts
\nsaid the ruling party's failure to secure a majority could
\npotentially slow the pace of reform in corporate restructuring.<\/p>\n
Others, however, said the fallout would be minimal.<\/p>\n
Late Friday, the dollar was quoted at 1,111.00 won, up from
\n1,108.00 won Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Singapore dollar jumped to its highest level in nearly two
\nweeks, continuing a rally that began Thursday. A number of
\ndealers said they believed the Monetary Authority of Singapore
\ngot things started by entering the market and selling dollars at
\nabout the S$1.7195 level Thursday.<\/p>\n
Players who had taken long U.S. dollar positions were forced
\nto unload the currency, pushing it to an intraday low of S$1.7108
\nFriday. That was the lowest level since it was S$1.7103 on April
\n3.<\/p>\n
\"I doubt anyone will go long with the U.S. dollar now,\" a
\ndealer at a foreign bank said. \"The MAS is sending a message.\"<\/p>\n
By the close, the U.S. currency moved to S$1.7115, down from
\nS$1.7152 late Thursday.<\/p>\n
Some analysts said the timing of the supposed MAS intervention
\nwas puzzling, since the Singapore dollar didn't appear to be
\nunusually soft.<\/p>\n
But there also was speculation that the MAS did it as a
\npreemptive move to head off what it may have perceived as a trend
\ntoward a weaker Singapore dollar. The timing was calculated, the
\ntheory goes, to take advantage of the long U.S. dollar positions.<\/p>\n
The New Taiwan dollar also felt the pressure of declining
\nshare prices. The island's main index fell 2.98%, and has now
\ndropped 7.4 percent over the past four sessions.<\/p>\n
Dealers also said sentiment toward Taiwan stocks and the
\ncurrency are still being negatively affected by tensions with
\nmainland China.<\/p>\n
Late in Asia, the U.S dollar was quoted at NT$30.461, up from
\nNT$30.380 at the end of the previous session.<\/p>\n
The Philippine peso moved lower in thin trading amid corporate
\ndemand for U.S. dollars. Declines were limited, however,
\nfollowing a favorable assessment of the Philippine economy by the
\nIMF.<\/p>\n
The fund said Thursday it was confident that the Philippines
\nwill be able to meet its growth target of four to five percent
\nthis year and set the stage for \"rapid growth\" in the next five
\nyears.<\/p>\n
The dollar was quoted at 41.168 pesos at the close of trading,
\nup from 41.155 the previous session.<\/p>\n
The Thai baht lost some ground in light offshore trading as
\nmarkets in Bangkok were closed for a public holiday. Dealers said
\nthe baht selling was typical before a weekend.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at 37.965 baht, up from 37.900 baht late
\nThursday.<\/p>",
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