Speculators<\/p>\n
From Bisnis Indonesia<\/p>\n
A plunge in the rupiah's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar
\nand the government's tight money policy following it have started
\nto cause economic trouble to both the government itself and the
\nprivate sector.<\/p>\n
Many projects have been canceled and some rescheduled. Many
\ncompanies have undergone a drop in their production and have been
\ncompelled to lay off some of their employees.<\/p>\n
The hike in the exchange rate of the dollar against the rupiah
\nis attributable in many cases to the demand for greenbacks needed
\nto repay offshore loans or the import of goods\/raw materials.
\nThis demand exceeds the supply of dollars in the market, giving
\nthe impression as if there were a rush for dollars.<\/p>\n
Ironically, in a country which is noted for mutual help among
\nits people and whose economy is based on Pancasila, many
\nIndonesians have turned into speculators and have purchased
\ndollars in order to gain a profit should the rupiah slide
\nfurther. These people do not care a dime about the difficulty now
\nfaced by the government and private businesses as supplies of
\ndollars have become scarce. Is profit seeking in this manner
\njustified by any of the existing religions?<\/p>\n
Until now, the government and the business sector have been
\ngoing all out to stem the soaring exchange rate of the dollar
\nagainst the rupiah. The government has even begun to seek help
\nfrom international financial institutions such as the IMF and the
\nWorld Bank.<\/p>\n
The government has never called on community members to let go
\nof their dollar savings (perhaps because for the government it is
\na matter of prestige or because it doesn't want to spread panic
\namong community members). In fact, dollar savings of private
\ncitizens are large and are perhaps more than enough to meet the
\ndemand for foreign payment at this time.<\/p>\n
There are still other options for the government. It may find
\nleverage in the form of a short-term dollar liquidity injection
\nto meet the demand of businesses whose foreign loans are due.<\/p>\n
Or, it may resort to psychological tactics, including actions
\nwhich may suggest that keeping dollar deposits would be neither
\nprofitable nor secure. In this way people would be discouraged
\nfrom purchasing dollars for deposit purposes.<\/p>\n
At this juncture, speculators would immediately release their
\ndollars making the exchange rate for the dollar against the
\nrupiah quickly return to its normal level.<\/p>\n
As for businesses whose offshore loans are due for repayment,
\nthey should be granted special status which would allow them to
\nobtain dollars as otherwise they would be squeezed in between a
\nhigh exchange rate and a high loan interest rate in rupiah.<\/p>\n
BUDI ATMOKO<\/p>\n
Administrator of Teleindonet<\/p>\n
Businessmen Group<\/p>\n
Bandung, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/speculators-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }