BI's net claim on govt rises to Rp 120.9t

JAKARTA (JP): The government has issued bonds worth Rp 144.5 trillion (US$16.3 billion) to Bank Indonesia to cover liquidity support to troubled commercial banks.

It helped multiply the central bank's net claim on the government by Rp 147.9 trillion to Rp 120.9 trillion as of Feb. 26 from the Feb. 23 level of minus Rp 26.9 trillion, BI said in a statement on Wednesday.

The increase also resulted from foreign debt repayments, the fuel subsidy and payment of civil servants' salaries.

The central bank's net claim on the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency dropped from Rp 109 trillion as of Feb. 23 to Rp 5.9 trillion as of Feb. 26.

Its liquidity credits rose by Rp 342 billion to Rp 20.27 trillion as of Feb. 26, from Rp 19.92 trillion the previous week.

BI's open market operations resulted in a contraction of Rp 625 billion to minus Rp 60.49 trillion.

As a result, net domestic asset increased by Rp 5.4 trillion to minus Rp 69.8 trillion, still below the International Monetary Fund adjusted target of minus Rp 46 trillion.

The central bank's net international reserves dropped by US$85.2 million to $14.75 billion, from $14.83 billion.

The decrease was attributed to repayment of part of the government's foreign debt.

Gross foreign assets also dropped to $24.28 billion from $24.36 billion. (02)