Rupiah gains stronger ground

Rupiah gains stronger ground

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The rupiah surged to breach the 10,000 level against the U.S.
dollar on Wednesday trading, as corporate demand for the foreign
unit declined ahead of year's end, dealers said.

Players taking profit on the weak dollar dragged the rupiah
back to old territories albeit at 10,210 still higher than
Tuesday's closing at 10,220

The rupiah's sharp gains marked a turnaround for the battered
local unit, which has been hovering at above 10,000 since last
October.

Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin attributed the
rupiah's recent surge on an upswing in market sentiment.

He said the market took confidence in the rupiah following the
successful sales of two state companies.

These were the telecommunication firm PT Telkom Indonesia,
which sold for some US$300 million, and plantation firm PT
Socfindo, which sold for around $40 million.

Sjahril said the central bank had intervened in the money
market, but added the amount had been too insignificant to have
helped the rupiah much.

The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) was also seen
converting dollars from the proceeds of its asset sales program.

IBRA secured several large deals this month as it went after
its target to raise Rp 27 trillion (about $2.64 billion) in
cash.4