Liquidity support to ailing banks rises to Rp 140.80 trillion

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia (BI) liquidity support to ailing banks under the supervision of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) rose by Rp 5.26 trillion in the week ending Aug. 21.

The central bank said in a statement yesterday that its net claim on IBRA as of Aug. 21 was Rp 140.80 trillion compared to Rp 135.58 trillion on Aug. 14.

BI said that on Aug. 21 its net domestic assets were still below the Rp 65.22 trillion target set by IMF although the figure had increased by Rp 1.55 trillion to negative Rp 66.22 trillion.

BI added that net international reserves declined by US$199 million to $13.70 billion during the same period, but were still above the indicative target of $13.38 billion.

BI attributed the decline to its move to absorb excess rupiah liquidity from the market.

BI said that its market operations had caused a contraction of Rp 793 billion. (aly)

Table A: Foreign reserves (in million dollars)

Aug. 7 Aug. 14 Aug. 21

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Gross foreign assets 19,403.3 19,260.7 19,072.9

- Liquid reserves * - - -

- Other reserves ** - - -

Gross foreign liabilities 4,896.4 4,896.4 4,896.4

Net forward positions 0.0 0.0 0.0

Reserve against

foreign currency deposits 425.4 456.0 468.1

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Net international reserves 14,081.5 13,908.3 13,708.4

* Liquid gross foreign assets include gold, foreign securities, offshore deposits and special drawing rights.

** Other gross foreign assets include export drafts, deposits in the branches of domestic banks in offshore and deposits parked at foreign banks to guarantee letter of credits.

Table B: Monetary indicators (in billion rupiah)

Aug. 7 Aug. 14 Aug. 21

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Reserve money 71,973 70,976 69,023

- Currency in circulation 51,954 51,418 50,915

- Deposits at central bank 19,080 18,573 17,103

Net international reserves

(Rupiah at constant rate) 140,815 139,083 137,084

(in million dollars) 14,081 13,908 13,708

Net domestic assets -68,842 -67,776 -66,226

- Net claims on government -53,026 -56,223 -52,275

- Net claims on IBRA 140,723 135,581 140,807

- Liquidity credits 17,638 17,624 18,278

(of which to Bulog) 7,669 7,657 8,221

- Open market operations -71,161 -66,854 -67,647

Source: Bank Indonesia