Asian monies up late, rupiah near 6-month high

Asian monies up late, rupiah near 6-month high

Alan Yonan Yr, Dow Jones, Singapore

Asian currencies were stronger Monday with the rupiah
continuing to hover near a six-month high as investors bet
Indonesia's creditors will agree to lenient terms this week for
the country's debt rescheduling.

The Singapore dollar, South Korean won and New Taiwan tracked
a stronger yen, while financial markets in Thailand and the
Philippines were closed for public holidays.

The rupiah strengthened to near a key level of Rp 9,500 per
dollar early in the session amid optimism that the government
will be given some breathing room on debt repayment and build on
recent successes in its privatization plans.

Late in Asian trading the dollar was quoted at Rp 9,525 down
from Rp 9,560 at Friday's close. It was the rupiah's best
performance since last September.

An agreement by the Paris Club group of creditor nations to
roll over an estimated $5.5 billion in Indonesian debt maturing
between now and 2003 would also clear the way for the
International Monetary Fund to press ahead with its Indonesian
aid package. The creditors are slated to meet Thursday and Friday
in the French capital.

For the first time, creditors are likely to allow Indonesia to
delay repayment of interest on its debt, as well as principal. In
two previous Paris Club reschedulings, creditors only agreed to
push back principal payment deadlines.

"The debt rescheduling is key for Indonesia's projected 2.5
percent (of GDP) deficit target compared to 3.7 percent last
year," Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi said in a research report.

Dealers said the rupiah garnered additional support from
comments by visiting U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick
over the weekend expressing his support for President Megawati
Sukarnoputri's efforts to reform the economy and help in the
global fight against terrorism.

The won benefited from the yen's rise, despite heavy demand
for dollars by foreigners who recently sold shares in the South
Korean stock market.

The dollar ended at 1,328.2 won, down from Thursday's close of
1,330.5 won. Markets in Seoul were closed Friday for a public
holiday.

The yen rose against the dollar Monday as uncertainty about
how events in the Middle East would unfold prompted some players
to sell the U.S. currency.

Near the end of Asian trading the dollar was at 131.27 yen,
below 131.65 yen in New York late Friday.

Foreigners snapped up dollars against the won Monday after
being net sellers of local shares for four straight sessions. On
Monday, they unloaded 263.3 billion won in shares, pulling down
the main stock index by 1.9 percent to 900.69.

The New Taiwan dollar strengthened against the U.S. dollar to
its best finish in more than three weeks.

The U.S. dollar closed at NT$34.978, down from NT$34.999
Thursday. Dealings were valued at US$534 million, down from
US$629 million Thursday. The market was closed for a public
holiday Friday.

The local dollar's rise was slowed by the Taiwan central bank,
which bought more than US$200 million in the session, mostly in
the final minutes of trading. The central bank routinely
intervenes to prevent excessive volatility in the New Taiwan
dollar.

The Singapore dollar's rise was tempered by concerns that the
central bank might be reluctant to allow it to appreciate to
sharply, dealers said.

Late in Asia the U.S. dollar was quoted at S$1.8349, down from
S$1.8358 late Friday.

News that Dutch electronics giant Philips Electronics will
move its regional headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong,
caused worries over Singapore's competitiveness to resurface.
That, in turn, prompted concerns among market players that the
Monetary Authority of Singapore may intervene to keep the local
dollar competitive against its regional peers.