JAKARTA: Indonesia's central bank said on Saturday its

JAKARTA: Indonesia's central bank said on Saturday its
international reserves fell to US$28.14 billion as of the second
week of May from $28.58 billion the previous week.

International reserves are calculated using gross foreign
exchange reserves and only include liquid assets.

The bank said in a statement net foreign exchange reserves
fell to Rp131.03 trillion in the second week of May from Rp131.09
trillion the previous week, based on an official rupiah book rate
of Rp 7,000 to the dollar.

By early Saturday trade, the rupiah was quoted at Rp
9,080/9,100 to the dollar.

Bank Indonesia also said base money was down to Rp114.179
trillion in the same period from Rp116.779 trillion the previous
week. --Reuters

Iran okays foreign investment

TEHRAN: Iran's highest arbitration body approved direct
foreign investment of up to 25 percent in the country's various
economic sectors, the official IRNA news agency reported
Saturday.

The Expediency Council, headed by former conservative
president Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, ruled moreover that
foreign investment may not exceed 35 percent in any given
subsector, with the government being responsible for designating
what those subsectors are.

The decision comes after two years of infighting between
Iran's reformist government and conservative clerics and opens up
the possibility of foreign investors taking stakes in Iranian
companies, something virtually impossible up until now.

In effect, the council's decision gave a green light to a bill
on foreign investment that has been repeatedly adopted by the
reformist parliament over the past two years and repeatedly
rejected by the conservative-dominated Guardians' Council.

The Expediency Council will decide next week on other points
of the bill, including the terms for repatriating capital and
profits.

Russia eyes 55% jump in privatization
JP/RUSSIA

MOSCOW: Russia forecast Saturday it would fill its coffers
next year with more than 54.8 billion rubles (US$1.8 billion)
from a wide range of privatization initiatives including the sale
of state-owned business.

The year 2003 represents a "new phase" for privatization and
management of public assets, the deputy minister in charge of
privatization Alexander Braverman said at a press conference.

His forecast for earnings generated from privatization schemes
is up 55 percent from estimated 2002 figures and compares with
just 10.1 billion rubles in 2001.

Sales in public industries for 2003 are expected to garner 51
billion rubles.

Major initiatives will include the sale of one of Russia's
largest steel factories, Magnitogorsk Metallurgy Factory, in
which the state still owns 17 percent, as well as several
airlines.

Also included is the public offering of 25 percent (minus two
shares) of telecommunications group Sviazinvest, which will
undergo a restructuring beforehand.--AFP

Taiwan sees economic recovery in 2002

TAIPEI: Taiwan's economy is heading for a solid recovery in
2002 on the back of expansion in exports, investment and
consumption, reversing its worst decline last year, officials and
analysts said.

The cabinet-level Directorate General of Budget, Accounting
and Statistics (DGBAS) Friday reported a 0.89 percent growth in
gross domestic product (GDP) for the island in the first quarter
from a year earlier, snapping a downward trend in three previous
straight quarters.

It also revised upwards its 2002 GDP growth forecast to 2.55
percent from 2.29 percent estimated in February, reversing a 1.9
percent decline last year.

The negative figure in 2001 was first ever yearly drop amid
shrinking overseas demand and less domestic investment on the
back of the global economic slowdown.

The DGBAS forecast GDP would grow 1.53 percent year-on-year in
the second quarter, to be followed by 3.86 percent and 3.89
percent respectively in the last two quarters.

Local think-tanks expect the island's 2002 GDP growth to come
in at 2.6-3.0 percent, and some economists have predicted it
would exceed 3.0 percent.--AFP