Restructuring not finished: Prijadi

Restructuring not finished: Prijadi

PRAGUE (DPA): Indonesian Finance Minister Prijadi
Praptosuhardjo said Monday in Prague that while the East Asian
economic recovery is well underway, the process of restructuring
in several countries is not finished.

Speaking for the Southeast Asia Group at the Development
Committee of the World Bank, he noted that the overall global
outlook points to growth, but that risks remained.

"In East Asia we are beginning to observe that the economic
recovery has begun to move beyond the susceptible stage, even
though in several countries crucial corporate and financial
restructuring efforts have yet to be completed," Praptosuhardjo
said.

The Indonesian minister said that amid conditions pointing to
stronger growth around the world, "significant risks" and "wide
disparities" among various regions were still evident.

"For the developing countries, continuous and steady growth of
major industrial countries, particularly the United States, and
the return of world oil prices to its normal level are especially
critical for their economic prospects in the short to medium
terms," he said.

The remark about returning oil prices to a normal level echoes
the call made the day before by the International Monetary and
Finance Committee, which said both oil producers and consumers
would work to stabilize oil markets. Indonesia is a major oil
producing country.