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Gold/Mining/Energy : Caussa Capital (formerly Antares) T.CAU -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Keith Donaghy who wrote (2408)	1/27/1998 9:21:00 PM
From: bill718	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4718

World Bank commends Indonesia, sees more stability. Tuesday January 27, 8:28 pm Eastern Time WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - A senior World Bank official on Tuesday commended Indonesia's proposals to strengthen its banking system and deal with corporate debts, saying they should help stabilize the country's hard-hit markets. Turning to South Korea and Thailand, the official told reporters that important progress had been made, but said the situation remained fragile. ''The latest announcements from (Indonesia) are a very important step forward,'' said Jean-Michel Severino, the bank's vice president for the East Asia and Pacific region. Indonesia earlier on Tuesday proposed a temporary freeze on corporate debt service payments. The government said it was a temporary move while new servicing measures were put in place and insisted it was not a debt moratorium. Indonesia also said it would reform its banking sector by opening it up to foreign investment, creating a new government agency to try to restore banks to health, and offering government guarantees to depositors and creditors. At a Washington news conference, Severino said the announcements would help stabilize Indonesia's private banking sector and should calm the financial markets. The rupiah rose sharply after the announcement. However, trading at around 11,000 to the dollar, it is still well below a midsummer high. Severino also told reporters that progress had been made in recent weeks in stabilizing the battered economies of South Korea and Thailand. ''We're seeing some stabilization of the exchange rates and of the stock markets,'' he said. ''I think this is very much the result of the work that has been undertaken.'' But he warned: ''We should remain cautious. The stabilization is very fragile.'' The International Monetary Fund has put together multibillion-dollar bailouts for Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand since the July 2, 1997, crash of the Thai baht currency, which sent shock waves across Asia. The World Bank has pledged up to $16 billion to the region, and has already disbursed more than $3.5 billion in loans. ******************** Tuesday January 27, 9:04 pm Eastern Time Clinton says helping Asia is "right thing to do" WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - President Bill Clinton appealed on Tuesday to the American people to support rescue deals for Asia's ailing economies, saying it was the right thing to do for the United States and the world as a whole. In the text of his State of the Union address, Clinton also called on Congress to renew its commitment to the International Monetary Fund, the agency that put together multibillion-dollar bailouts to rescue the economies of Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand. ''The American economy remains sound and strong -- and I want to keep it that way,'' Clinton said. ''But because the turmoil in Asia will have an impact on all the world's economies, including ours, making that negative impact as small as possible is the right thing to do for a safer world -- and the right thing to do for America.'' Clinton is asking a sceptical Congress to approve some $19 billion to replenish IMF resources, which have been drained by the three huge bailouts. ''Our policy is clear. No nation can recover if it does not reform itself. But when nations are willing to undertake serious economic reform, we should help them to do it,'' Clinton said. ''So I call on Congress to renew America's commitment to the International Monetary Fund.'' ''Preparing for a far-off storm that may reach our shores is far wiser than ignoring the thunder until the clouds are overhead,'' he added.