Fitch assigns B+ to RI global bond

JAKARTA: Fitch Ratings, a global rating agency, said on Wednesday it expects to assign a long-term foreign currency rating of B+ to the country's forthcoming dollar-dominated sovereign bonds, which will mature in 2014.

The rating, with the outlook being stable, was underpinned by prudent fiscal policy, macroeconomic stability and sustained improvements in the country's solvency and liquidity in recent years, the agency said in a statement.

"Indonesia's economy has displayed remarkable resilience in the face of a host of shocks since the Bali bombing in 2002, turning in growth of 4.1 percent in 2002, the highest since 2000," the statement said.

The government plans to issue sovereign bonds in March, valued at a minimum of US$400 million, as part of its efforts to obtain fresh funds to be used to help finance the 2004 state budget deficit.

The upcoming issue should mark the first global bond issue since the crisis, having issued $400 million-worth of Yankee bonds in 1996. -- JP