BI policy would encourage investors to make their investment in the state treasury bonds (SPN) so that it would reduce the level of its returns.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo hailed Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank)`s step to ban buyers of its certificates (SBI) from reselling them again in less then six months.

The finance minister said on Wednesday that the BI policy would encourage investors to make their investment in the state treasury bonds (SPN) so that it would reduce the level of its returns.

"We produce SPN and when it was auctioned yesterday, it turned out that its average price was one percent cheaper than that of the SBI. So this also creates efficiency for the state expenditures," the minister said.

Agus said that if the matter continued to happen the yields of the state debentures (SUN) could also be offset. "Because we have SUNs with a total value of between Rp1,600 and 1,700 trillion rupiah, a reduction by one percent in its interest would help save on the state money," he said.

As it was reported that BI has issued a new policy which bans SBI buyers, domestic or foreign ones, from reselling them during the six-month holding period. The policy was effective as of Wednesday, April 13 , 2011.

"In an effort to minimize the negative impact of short term foreign capital against the monetary stability and financial system, the BI board of governors also decided to replace the one-month holding period for the SBI to six-month holding period, effective as of May 13, 2011," BI Governor Darmin Nasution said when he explained the result of the board of governors meeting.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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