Forestry funds to help rupiah

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo said yesterday his ministry had deposited about Rp 400 billion (US$142 million) of reforestation funds in Bank Indonesia last month to help shore up the falling rupiah.

Djamaludin said the reforestation funds were deposited on Aug. 16 in Bank Indonesia's Certificates (SBIs), the short-term promissory notes used by the central bank to drain liquidity.

"The deposit increases the amount of reforestation funds in SBI to Rp 1.27 trillion from Rp 870 billion," the minister told reporters after a hearing with the House of Representatives's Commission IV for agriculture and transmigration.

He said reforestation funds collected by his ministry from the country's forestry companies totaled about Rp 2 trillion.

Most of the funds were kept in the country's seven state-owned banks including Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Bumi Daya (BBD), Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) and Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo), Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Dagang Negara and Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia (Bank Exim).

Djamaludin said the Rp 400 billion, which was placed in SBIs last month, was taken evenly from BNI, BDN and Bank Exim.

Bank Indonesia last month raised the interest rates of its SBIs to between 27 percent and 30 percent per year as part of its move to shore up the falling rupiah. The central bank also asked state-owned companies and government institutions to place their money in SBIs to help drain liquidity.

Bank Indonesia said yesterday the rate was lowered by three percentage points to between 24 percent and 7 percent.(08)