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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (2411)	2/27/1998 1:32:00 PM
From: Sam	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Mohan, From the article: "Asked by reporters in New York if the worst of the Asian crisis could be over, Meister said: ''I don't know. I think it's too early to say. Maybe we've seen the worst, yes, but I think maybe we have to see some more difficulties in the economic area in the future ... There are a lot of problems to be solved.'' (He must be a genius!) "One of those problems was Indonesian President Suharto's continuing flirtation with a currency board to peg the rupiah to the dollar despite widespread international opposition. ''For example, the pegging of the Indonesian rupiah against the U.S. dollar--I don't know if this problem is solved. The president of Indonesia (has gotten) caught up in this idea.''" And for good reason. Anyone notice that the stateside WSJ in its wisdom came out in editorial support for the Indonesian currency board? I wonder if the Asia edition does the same. Rubin and Clinton will have much to answer for if the board isn't established and Indonesia collapses into anarchic violence, WSJ says. They mention the possibility (toward the end of the rather long editorial) that "some say" the board may be a ruse for Suharto and friends to get their own money out at favorable rates (they don't say that it will be with IMF money, though, or mention Indonesia's dearth of foreign reserves, or ask how this wonderful currency board will keep their guarantees after the IMF money is gone, but why bother with details? $42 billion should take care of Suharto's needs, or most of them, anyway), but then drop the suggestion without replying to it, only implying that it is worth the risk, since violence akin to the mid-60s is the alternative. Currency boards have worked elsewhere (they mention Argentina and Hong Kong), and offer the best chance of helping Indonesia now, they maintain. I would post the editorial, but don't have WSJ access, just read it an hour or so ago in the paper. Wonder if Suharto has guaranteed that Asian WSJ will sell out for the next 5 years?<cg> (cg = cynical grimace)