Major economic and political events in 2004
March 4: The government launches a US$1 billion international bond, more than double the initial plan of $400 million, to meet overwhelming demand from global investors. The sovereign bond is oversubscribed four times.
March 11: The 22-day official campaign period for the legislative election begins. Shares on the JSX drop by 2.5 percent to 741 and the rupiah plunges to its lowest level in eight months at Rp 8,620 against the dollar on security jitters.
April 5: The legislative election, involving 24 contending parties, go smoothly. The Golkar Party wins the most seats in the House of Representatives, followed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the United Development Party (PPP).
May 17: Indonesian stocks post the biggest drop in 19 months on concerns over record global oil prices and the possibility that the U.S. Federal Reserve would, for the first time in four years, raise its key interest rate by 25 basis points the following month.
July 5: Voters turn out en masse -- nearly 120 million -- for the first direct presidential election in the country. President Megawati Soekarnoputri and running mate Hasyim Muzadi, and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and running mate Jusuf Kalla emerge contenders for the runoff in September.
Aug. 15: Megawati presents the 2005 draft budget featuring a Rp 21 trillion ($2.31 billion) fuel subsidy with oil prices assumed at $24 a barrel and a growth forecast of 5.4 percent.
Sept. 9: A bomb goes off in front of the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, South Jakarta, killing 11 people, including the alleged suicide bomber, and injuring more than 180 others. The market reacts by closing 0.8 percent lower.
Sept. 20: Voters cast ballots for the second and final time to choose their next president. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla win the runoff in a landslide, garnering 60.68 percent of valid votes against Megawati-Hasyim's 39.32 percent.
Sept. 28: Oil prices break $50 a barrel for the first time in history amid growing demand and increasing unrest in major producers Nigeria and Iraq.
Oct. 10: The government reaps Rp 2.77 trillion in gross proceeds from the sale of its 51 percent stake in Bank Permata to a consortium of British Standard Chartered Plc. and local automotive company PT Astra International.
Oct. 20: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla step into office vowing to fight the pervasive and systematic corruption. The Jakarta stock market tumbles amid investor disappointment over the new Cabinet, the United Indonesia Cabinet.
Dec. 2: The Jakarta Composite Index tips the 1,000 mark after months of rallying following the relatively peaceful general elections and revised investment ratings of several companies.