Sell-off and oil exports boost foreign reserves
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's foreign reserves rose in the first week of November, boosted by oil exports and the sale of a stake in state-owned cement maker PT Semen Gresik.
Bank Indonesia said in a statement on Tuesday that gross foreign reserves rose to US$21.777 billion on Nov. 6 from $21.743 billion on Oct. 30
Net foreign reserves also rose to $14.234 billion on November 6 from $14.212 billion on Oct. 30. The net foreign reserves are calculated by subtracting Bank Indonesia's foreign liabilities from its foreign reserves.
Net foreign assets for the first week of November are above the International Monetary Fund's adjusted target of $11.26 billion.
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia's net domestic assets (NDA) expanded by Rp 1.09 trillion (US$140.6 million) to minus Rp 70.5 trillion on Nov. 6 from minus Rp 71.58 trillion in the previous week.
The NDA for Nov. 6 was far below the IMF's adjusted target of minus Rp 39.64 trillion.
Outstanding government loans to the nation's troubled banks fell to Rp 135.438 trillion from Rp 135.288 trillion. That decline was partly due to repayment of some loans by the banks, the central bank said.
The central bank also absorbed Rp 5.37 trillion of the government funds, making net claims on the government constructed to minus Rp 30.79 trillion on Nov. 6 from minus Rp 25.4 trillion in the previous week.
The increasing government reserves at the central bank were mainly from taxes and proceeds from the sales of a stake in Semen Gresik.
The government sold its 14 percent stake in Semen Gresik to Mexico's Cemex SA for $114.6 million. (rid)
Table A: Foreign reserves (in million dollars)
Oct. 23 Oct.30 Nov. 06
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Gross foreign assets 21,424.7 21,743.1 21,777.6
- Liquid reserves * - - -
- Other reserves ** - - -
Gross foreign liabilities 6,805.2 6,805.2 6,805.2
Net forward positions 0.0 0.0 0.0
Reserve against
foreign currency deposits 706.8 725.4 738.8
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Net international reserves 13,912.7 14,212.5 14,233.6
* Liquid gross foreign assets include gold, foreign securities, offshore deposits and special drawing rights.
** Other gross foreign assets include export drafts, deposits in the branches of domestic banks in offshore and deposits parked at foreign banks to guarantee letter of credits.
Table B: Monetary indicators (in billion rupiah)
Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 06
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Reserve money 69,394 70,541 71,839
- Currency in circulation 46,536 47,956 48,401
- Deposits at central bank 22,211 21,913 22,776
Net international reserves
(Rupiah at constant rate) 139,127 142,125 142,336
(in million dollars) 13,912.7 14,212.5 14,233.6
Net domestic assets -69,733 -71,584 -70,497
- Net claims on government -26,821 -25,424 -30,794
- Net claims on IBRA 135,744 135,828 135,438
- Liquidity credits 16,527 15,603 16,758
(of which to Bulog) 6,240 6,305 6,305
- Open market operations -58,377 -57,488 -52,835
Source: Bank Indonesia