RI needs $17b for recovery

RI needs $17b for recovery

MELBOURNE (AP): Indonesia needs another US$17 billion to get its economy back on its feet, a special adviser to Indonesian President B.J. Habibie said Wednesday.

"The total need of the country is about $60 billion to bail out all the bad debts of the banks, to finance the social safety net programs and the budget deficit," economist Frans Seda told the Australia Unlimited conference in Melbourne.

Frans said the International Monetary Fund, other multilateral aid agencies and several creditor countries had arranged about $43 billion, leaving another $17 billion that Indonesia needs.

He later told reporters he believes Indonesia could raise about $10 billion by selling off state-owned enterprises, and therefore needs another $7 billion from the international community.

Frans said he disagreed with an IMF assessment that Indonesia would experience zero growth during the current Indonesian financial year, which began April 1, saying he thought it would continue to have negative growth.