Street money changers rue rupiah stabilization
JAKARTA (JP): Black market money changers are preparing to find other jobs or return to their former professions following a significant slowdown in foreign exchange transactions.
"In comparison to the same period last year, the foreign exchange business is now slowing down," Sutrisno, a street broker on Jl. Kwitang in Central Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
"Street brokers used to obtain profits from the fluctuating rupiah rate against the U.S. dollar. So if the rate steadily improves following the recovery of the economic and political situation, the foreign exchange business will no longer be a promising one."
He said that last year's wild fluctuations in the rupiah enabled him to take home Rp 200,000 (US$28.50) every day.
Due to the good foreign exchange business, Sutrisno decided to leave his job as an attendant at a Padang food restaurant, where he had earned Rp 250,000 per month.
He said business significantly dropped off two days after the election on Wednesday of Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid to the presidency and the appointment on Thursday of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri to the vice presidency.
"Since then, I can only earn Rp 10,000 a day, although I also work part-time as a parking attendant," he said.
Sutrisno said he had not decided what he would do if the foreign exchange business continued to deteriorate.
The rupiah has continued to strengthen against the greenback in recent months, especially after the election of the country's state leadership team. Money changers set on Saturday the buying rate at about Rp 6,700 per dollar and the selling rate at about Rp 6,900.
The greenback rate against the rupiah reached its peak at Rp 17,000 last year, from Rp 2,400 during the stable economic times.
Another money changer, Lukman, said traders were currently only able to obtain very small profits due to the small trading margin of between three to five digits only.
Lukman, a father of three children, said he would consider returning to his former business as a broker of electronic goods.
The foreign exchange business mushroomed in the city from last year when the city was hit by a serious economic crisis. Many such illegal businesses operated on Jl. Kwitang, part of Jl. Cikini Raya and part of Jl. Gunung Sahari Raya, all in Central Jakarta.
Low-income earners and unemployed people were drawn to the business because no start-up funds were required. They worked for big dealers who provided money for the transactions.
Street broker Feri, who runs a business on Jl. Gunung Sahari Raya, predicted that within a month the estimated 20 money changers in the area would substantially drop off.
"Profits will continuously decrease if the country's economic and political situation is better," he said.
Feri, an employee with a private company, said the slowdown in the foreign exchange business would not seriously affect his income because he only worked the job on the side. (ind)