Moody's to send team to RI

Moody's to send team to RI

JAKARTA (Dow Jones): Moody's Investors Service Inc. said
Thursday it plans to send a sovereign ratings team to Indonesia
in mid-November.

Thomas Byrne, a Moody's senior vice president, told Dow Jones
Newswires the team would come, but didn't say whether the ratings
agency would conduct an official review of the country's
sovereign rating.

Moody's confirmation of an imminent visit comes after Senior
Economics Minister Rizal Ramli said in Tokyo Wednesday he's
optimistic the ratings agency will upgrade Indonesia soon.

Currently, Indonesia has a junk rating of B3, well below
investment grade.

Standard & Poor's Corp., a rival credit ratings agency,
upgraded Indonesia to B- earlier this month, the equivalent of
Moody's B3 rating.

S&P said Indonesia's ability to restructure its last remaining
default debt with the London Club of private creditors spurred
its decision to upgrade the country.