Asian monies mixed, rupiah strengthens

Asian monies mixed, rupiah strengthens

Alan Yonan Jr., Dow Jones, Singapore

Improving prospects for the privatization of state-held assets
in Indonesia helped the rupiah climb to a near five-month high
against the dollar Tuesday. Other Asian currencies were mixed in
rangebound trading.

The rupiah broke through the psychological 10,000 per dollar
barrier as investors looked to the government's impending sale of
its 51 percent stake in PT Bank Central Asia as a sign that
privatization efforts are beginning to take hold.

Late in Asian trading the dollar was quoted at Rp 9,980, down
from Rp 10,075 late Monday, and its weakest finish since Rp 9,970
on Oct. 15.

"Sentiment is improving on the feeling that the BCA sale could
mark a turning point in asset sales," said Nizam Idris, regional
economist at IDEAglobal. "This will be a significant investment
coming after a long drought."

Indonesian officials are hoping the auction of BCA will help
resurrect foreign interest in the Indonesian economy that
disappeared after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

The rupiah has been slowly appreciating since the start of the
year, exhibiting relative stability following several years of
tremendous volatility.

That stability has eased the concerns of Indonesian companies
with dollar-denominated debt, Idris said. In the past when
confidence in the rupiah was fragile, those firms would stock up
on U.S. dollars in advance, knowing a weakening rupiah would
increase the cost of debt repayment down the road.

But that phenomenon appears to have subsided, Idris said.
"People are finding it quite effective to be holding rupiah with
higher rates of return on Indonesian assets."

The New Taiwan dollar was pushed higher by foreign inflows
into the local stock market.

The U.S. dollar closed at NT$35.069, compared with the
previous close of NT$35.090. The currencies traded in a narrow
range of NT$35.062 to NT$35.062.

Foreign investors bought a net NT$15.5 billion worth of local
equities on Tuesday, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

The South Korean won was similarly buoyed by gains in local
stocks, as well as improving prospects for the economy.

The dollar ended at 1,316.4 won Tuesday versus 1,318.2 won
Monday. The trading range was 1,314.6 won to 1,316.8 won.
Foreign investors bought a net 295.929 billion won worth of
shares.

South Korean business confidence rose to a record high in
March according to a survey by the Federation of Korean
Industries. The Federation's index rose to 141.9 in March from
110.7 in February.

The Philippine peso edged lower, one day after hitting a new
high for the year against the dollar.

The dollar closed at 51.160 pesos on the Philippine Dealing
System, up from 51.065 pesos Monday. It moved within a range of
51.040-51.170 pesos.

Traders said corporate demand for dollars was strong at levels
below 51.100 pesos, pulling down the peso.

The Singapore dollar was little changed against its U.S.
counterpart.

Near the end of Asian trading the U.S. dollar was quoted at
S$1.8290, down slightly from S$1.8292 late Monday.

The U.S. dollar hit an intraday high of S$1.8305 at midmorning
on U.S. dollar short covering, but then weakened in tandem with
its slide against the yen.

The Thai baht weakened on expectations that equity related
inflows would decline following profit taking in the local stock
market.

Late in Asia the dollar was quoted at 43.665 baht, up from
43.600 baht late Monday.