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Technology Stocks : INDONESIA'S PT TELECOM(TLK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rational who wrote (277)	2/8/1998 12:58:00 AM
From: stockid	Respond to of 947

SK, news update: FOCUS-Indonesia keeps lid on potent political brew By Ian MacKenzie JAKARTA, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The Indonesian government is keeping the lid firmly clamped down on a potent political and economic brew to ensure next month's indirect presidential vote goes as smoothly as possible. While President Suharto has signed an agreement for sweeping economic reforms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government is endeavouring to keep their effects from hitting home too quickly on the nation's 200 million people. Ministers have called on wholesale traders to keep prices down, while planned increases in fuel and electricity tariffs under the IMF agreement are being held off until April. Serious drought caused by the El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean which affects world weather patterns has aggravated the economic situation, with the government obliged to import rice to ensure supplies. The government backed by the World Bank, displaying the caring face of international finance, is also undertaking make-work projects in urban and rural areas amid predictions that 10 percent of the 90 million workforce will be out of jobs by the end of the year. ''A lot of what is happening is to get safely through the next eight weeks, and then there will be more flexibility and bigger time horizons,'' one economic analyst said on Sunday. The aim is to ensure stability after the largely-ceremonial 1,000-member People's Consultative Congress (MPR) meets on March 1 and elects Suharto for a seventh five-year term on March 9. The 76-year-old Suharto, who has pledged to the IMF and international leaders to vigorously push through reforms, has already accepted nomination by the ruling Golkar party and is assured of victory. The key issue now is who he will accept as his running mate and potential successor. Suharto has given no formal indication of who he might favour. The president and vice-president are due to be sworn in on March 11 at the MPR, which will also approve broad government policy outlines for the next five years. This will be followed by the announcement of a new cabinet, whose makeup many analysts say will be crucial in overcoming the economic crisis and pushing through reforms agreed with the IMF in return for a $43 billion bail-out. The Indonesian armed forces (ABRI), whose leaders have pledged to clamp down on any disturbances across the archipelago which sprawls 5,000 km (3,000 miles) along the equator, exercised troops in Jakarta last week in a pointed warning to people not to disrupt the MPR proceedings. Military sources said the army was keeping a low profile but had strengthened its presence in and around Jakarta to back up the police force -- which is under ABRI control -- in case of trouble. Authorities concede tension exists in the world's fourth most populous country as Indonesia faces an uncertain political future amid its worst economic crisis in decades. So far, rioting over rising prices and hardship brought on by drought has been largely confined to populous and strongly-Moslem East Java, and a few coastal towns in Central Java and in Sulawesi. On Saturday at least two shops were burned and seven others damaged in Bima town on the island of Sumbawa, east of the resort island of Bali, during a protest against price hikes, the official Antara news agency reported. There are fears, however, that inflation and unemployment which will start to bite deeper in April could cause widespread social unrest in a nation noted for its volatility. There is also concern that the drought may worsen again. Economic analysts say the issue of a successor to Suharto and fears of unrest are two factors which are causing serious concern to international investors, already spooked by the economic turmoil through Southeast and East Asia. Suharto has built his long rule on political stability and economic development, and the economic collapse threatens his genuine accomplishments in pulling the nation out of the abject poverty of the mid-1960s. He replaced founding president Sukarno 32 years ago after an abortive 1965 coup attempt blamed on the now-banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which in turn prompted bloody anti-communist pogroms in which a half-million people died. Suharto has faced unprecedented calls in recent weeks to step down at the end of his current term, including a challenge from Sukarno's daughter and dissident focus Megawati Sukarnoputri. But he is a fighter and diplomatic analysts say he has shown no intention of quitting in the face of the current crisis.

To: Rational who wrote (277)	2/8/1998 12:38:00 PM
From: npguy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 947

Sankar, I doubt we will see Rp. 4000 -Rp. 5000 anytime soon. The succession issue has to be worked out and Indonesian central bank has to earn back the confidence of the general populace in the banking system. Without these, businesses in Indonesia grind to a halt, along with the chances of strengthening Rp. (though the latest move to guarantee bank deposits helps. People are still a bit apprehensive.) Being an Indonesian, I am, shall we say, taking all the pronouncement of economic reforms a bit skeptically. Besides, the threat of riots, in the mean time has made everyone skittish. The general mood is: not whether riots will break out, but when and at what scale. Regards, TB

To: Rational who wrote (277)	2/8/1998 3:14:00 PM
From: Rational	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 947

Full story Asian stocks end week with strong gains 05:26 p.m Feb 06, 1998 Eastern By Stuart Grudgings SINGAPORE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A week that began in euphoria for Asian stock markets ended with another confidence-boosting rise on Friday as foreign investors continued to dip their toes in the region. The countries worst affected by Asia's financial upheavals -- South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand -- were among the best performers, as investors afraid of being left out of a possible recovery tentatively returned. ''A lot of funds have under performed the indices over the last 10 trading days because they were taking a defensive stance,'' said Chua Soon Hock, chief strategist at Sanwa Bank in Singapore. ''They don't want to miss out on further gains, especially with currencies now looking more stable,'' he said. Indonesia shone on Friday, shooting up more than four percent as investors bet that many of the market's indebted companies would be taken over by their foreign creditors. The composite index closed 4.27 percent, or 21.94 points higher, at 535.43 on heavy volume. The market also got a fillip from new government moves to tackle Indonesia's mountain of corporate debt, which stands at $73.962 billion out of a total $137.4 billion in foreign debt. Radius Prawiro, the Indonesian government's chief debt negotiator, said the International Finance Corporation and other banks would provide $42 billion in credit for 42 domestic companies. Prawiro also said the government would move quickly to set up a bankruptcy law in line with International Monetary Fund's requirements. Hong Kong stocks managed a modest rise with gains trimmed in late trade by profit-taking as investors unloaded positions ahead of U.S. employment data due later in the day, brokers said. The Hang Seng Index put on 43.73 points, or 0.42 percent, to close at 10,485.86. Shares in Tokyo ended little changed with stocks capped by profit-taking and forecasts of gloomy economic conditions, brokers said. The key 225-share Nikkei average finished 36.76 points, or 0.22 percent, higher at 17,040.06. ''The Nikkei 225 is on the way to a further recovery, but it is now trapped in a limited range,'' said Masaaki Higashida, a strategist at Nomura Securities Co Ltd. Signs that a more flexible economy will emerge from the region's financial crisis boosted South Korean stocks. The main index rose more than two percent, helped by news that a panel comprising government, labour and corporate management officials had struck an agreement making layoffs easier. This would be passed into law by the National Assembly this month, the panel said. Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI) comment that it would increase South Korea's weighting in its Emerging Markets Free (EMF) index also helped boost foreign buying. But brokers said the rise was limited by selling by domestic institutions. The composite index ended 2.35 percent, or 12.40 points, higher at 540.45. Stocks in Thailand also leapt ahead as foreigners crept back, their confidence improved by the baht's continued rise against the dollar. The currency was up on hopes of a positive outcome to the IMF's current review of Thailand's economic reforms. The SET index closed 4.87 points higher at 534.98. Singapore stocks rallied as investors snapped up what they regarded as undervalued shares. Some were sceptical of the rush to buy. ''It was more or less herd instinct,'' said one dealer. The key Straits Times Index ended up three percent, or 44.76 points, at 1,536.91. Further north, Malaysian shares also rose as the ringgit strengthened against the dollar and investors capitalised on good news in the region. An announcement in the afternoon that Moody's, the international ratings firm, had downgraded Malaysia's foreign currency ratings failed to deter traders. Kuala Lumpur's composite index finished up 2.16 percent, or 15.38 points, at 728.19. ^REUTERS@

To: Rational who wrote (277)	2/9/1998 10:15:00 AM
From: tom	Respond to of 947

Suharto is not going along with the IMF reforms and the IMF are only too well aware of this. A lot of talk about reforms but no real action. For instance... - APKINO, the Indo plywood monopoly run by Bob Hasan, has supposedly been abolished. Don't make me laugh - Bob Hasan is just replacing the old system with a new one. All exporters now have to pay US$5 for every cu m of plywood exported in order to set up a statistical database to analyse plywood exports!!!! This will add up to US$35m/year when it probably only costs US$2m to set up this project. They are also "strongly advised" to use Bob's shipping fleet at inflated prices. - Bulog has not been dismantled and the target date keeps being postponed (currently May) - The national car and IPTN are currently still going ahead (just without government subsidies) and officials at the central bank know that there are other ways to unofficially subsidize these projects. Nearly every decree issued at the request of the IMF is full of caveats and restrictions and lack of clarity on when it will be implemented. Indo has a long, long way to go before it becomes a serious investment location. It doesn't listen to the IMF - just look at the expansion of Bank Indonesia's balance sheet in the last few months. They are desperately printing money in order to stop the banking system going under. It all comes down to this. Forget about politics - Indonesia is bankrupt and it is only a matter of time before this is made official. The only reason the currency is so strong is because BoI is buying it and there is a debt moratorium so the capital flight has dried up. A currency board seems to be a favourite at the moment and I think that it's the only chance Indo's got. Finally, I agree that TLK is just an Rupiah play as the business itself is screwed.