I am waiting for their proposal."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said he is ready to help the government stabilize the rupiah by involving state firms which have high demand for the dollar.
"We have prepared steps to help the government. I also have contacted the finance minister, Bank Indonesia governor and Darmin Nasution (former Bank Indonesia governor)," he said here on Wednesday.
Dahlan said the talks with Finance Minister Chatib Basri, Bank Idonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo and Darmin Nasution focused on what programs the state firms can technically carry out.
"I am waiting for their proposal. The state firms are ready to help the government overcome the current pressure on the rupiah," he said.
But he stopped short of revealing what steps the state firms will take soon, arguing the steps are sensitive .
"Such steps were once taken when Darmin Nasution led Bank Indonesia," he said.
The rupiah tumbled against the dollar in the past two days.
The local unit traded at Rp9,830 per dollar on Tuesday after hitting a record low of Rp10,000 per dollar on the spot market the day before.
The Indonesia currency stood at Rp9.823-Rp9.828 per dollar in the opening trade on Wednesday morning.
State firms are among those requiring large quantities of dollar to finance their operations and repay their maturing debts.
State oil and gas company PT Pertamina needs large quantities of dollar to finance fuel imports.
Earlier this year, Dahlan instructed Pertamina and state electricity firm PLN not to buy dollar on the money market. Instead, they must rely on three state-owned banks Mandiri, BRI and BNI for their dollar needs.***3***
Reporting by Royke Sinaga
(R017/S012/H-YH)
(T.SYS/B/S012/B/H-YH) 12-06-2013 18:44:20
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
