Banks, JSX closed for the holidays

Banks, JSX closed for the holidays

Bank Indonesia said it would not conduct transactions on Dec. 25,
Dec. 26, Dec. 31, and Jan. 1, 2004, during the year-end Christmas
and New Year celebrations.

The announcement means that domestic banks, which will follow
suit, will only have two working days during this period, on Dec.
29 and Dec. 30.

Banks have said they would intensify other services because of
the limited opportunity for direct transactions -- by ensuring
the availability of cash in automatic teller machines (ATMs) and
speedy processing of Internet-based transactions, for example --
to help customers cope with the situation.

The central bank said in a press statement it would resume
normal activities on Jan. 2, as would other banks in the country.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) has also set its holiday
schedule, which was determined largely on Bank Indonesia's
announcement.

In addition to the dates set out by the central bank, the JSX
will not conduct trading activities on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve. It
will reopen trading on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, before fully resuming
activities on Jan. 2.

Public services provided by the bureaucracy will also take a
break for the Christmas, and civil servants will take mass leave
on Dec. 26, while those who have six-day work weeks will also
take Dec. 27 off.

"Civil servants should resume work on Dec. 29," Ahmad
Fahnaina, spokesman for the office of the State Minister for
Administrative Reforms, said on Monday.

The government earlier announced an extended weekend for civil
servants in observance of Christmas.

Since last year, civil servants have been ordered to take
leave en mass to celebrate Idul Fitri and Christmas, a move made
in an effort to boost domestic tourism, which had plummeted
following the October 2002 Bali bombings.

State Minister for Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin said
the extended holidays had improved the civil servants'
discipline, although critics say it did not necessarily enhance
their productivity. -- JP