RI to become int'l financial center by 2000

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia, with its free foreign exchange regime and the rapid growth of its economy, has the potential to become one of the major international financial centers by the turn of the century, an executive said yesterday.

Before addressing the 39th seminar of the Association of Cambiste Internationale, President of the Foreign Exchange Club Indonesia Jeffrey Turangan told journalists that although Indonesia's financial market is still "relatively young," it has enough international recognition.

"We are the fourth Asian country elected to conduct the Association's seminar. Next year, we will host an Asia Pacific Foreign Exchange Assembly," Jeffrey said.

He explained that international recognition is very important for an emerging financial market like Indonesia. There would be more foreign fund managers willing to deal with local dealers.

"In 1999, we will host another international event, the world foreign exchange congress," said Turangan. The Foreign Exchange Club Indonesia is an affiliate of Association of Cambiste Internationale, the world foreign exchange club which has 13,000 members in 79 countries.

Turangan said the daily volume of trading in the Indonesian financial market is still very low, only $2 billion, as compared to $80 billion in Singapore.

He said the Indonesian financial market will grow in line with the economic growth in the region. "By 2020, the world financial centers will shift to this region."

Attraction

The Association's president, David W. Clark, said the region has become increasingly attractive for international fund managers due to deregulatory measures taken by governments in the region.

"It is a fact that people are investing their money in this region...because deregulations continue to allow more money to flow from developed countries into these emerging markets," Clark said.

Managing Director of Bank Indonesia (the central bank), Paul Soetopo Tjokronegoro, said the greatest challenges of Indonesia today in the financial sector do not come from economy, but from human resources, whose skills and expertise are still lagging behind.

"Traders must shoulder important responsibilities. They must set an example. They must be bound by certain ethics. Their works must be based on trust. In areas of integrity, they can never be lax. Too often these ideals are sacrificed in the heat of competition," Soetopo said in his written address.

Sharing Soetopo's view, Jeffrey said education has become a very important factor in the development of Indonesia's financial market.

"We are discussing with the Indonesian Institute of Bankers and the central bank about the growing need for having a professional qualification standard for bank dealers," Jeffrey said. (rid)