Jakarta(ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia (BI), Indonesia`s central bank, may start to consider issuing its digital currency (CBDC), following the currently growing e-commerce trend, according to an official. BI Director of Financial System Policy, Erwin Haryono, noted here on Tuesday that the trend of e-commerce is one of indicators for issuing some official cryptocurrency. "If the need for a digital currency would be met by unofficial entities, it would not be stable. Hence, it should be made by the authority, and when people need it more, the bank central should take over," he remarked at a financial discussion in Jakarta. At present, BI has been studying the positive and negative impacts of CBDC`s issuance in Indonesia, in a bid to encourage safe and secured digital finance. Similar measures were also taken by other central banks worldwide. On the other hand, the central bank must also consider the effects of CBDC on the economy due to its risk in reducing the use of cash money and … [Read more...] about E-commerce trend may push digital currency`s issuance: BI
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Rupiah`s slump not caused by unchanged BI rate: Bank Indonesia
Jakarta, (ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia (BI), Indonesia`s central bank, has rejected some reports of the current depreciation of the rupiah being caused by the unchanged BI rate, or officially called the "7-Day Reverse Repo Rate" in July. BI`s Deputy Governor Erwin Rijanto denied claims that the rupiah had weakened on Friday owing to a negative response from the market after the central bank decided to keep the BI rate at 5.25 percent during a meeting of the board of governors on Thursday. The BI had raised the rate up to 100 basis points in the last two months. "If we look at it from a broader perspective, it is not only the rupiah that has depreciated today but also other currencies," Rijanto pointed out. Rijanto noted that an improvement in the US economic data had strengthened the US dollar and widely impacted the depreciation of currencies of developing economies, including the rupiah. According to the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate on Friday, the rupiah had opened … [Read more...] about Rupiah`s slump not caused by unchanged BI rate: Bank Indonesia
BI believes investors will still be loyal to rupiah
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia (BI) believes short-term investment that has flowed out in the past few weeks will soon return to the country`s shares and bond market in view of the attractive yield and domestic economy. "Investors will remain loyal. We believe, based on previous outflow experiences, that foreign investors will again return to Indonesia," the central bank`s executive director of monetary management, Nanang Hendarsah, said here on Friday. He admitted there had been strong outflows of funds in the past few weeks, especially because of an increase in the yields on the US government bond, the 10-year treasury bill, that moved between 2.9 and 3.0 per cent. He declined to say how much fund or investment portfolio had flowed out. At present, the ten-year SUN (government bond) moved in the range of 6.9 per cent. The figure was higher than in other emerging markets, he said. "The attractive yield will make Indonesia more alluring. The challenge is how to make … [Read more...] about BI believes investors will still be loyal to rupiah
Indonesia president pledges no government intervention in monetary policy amid weak rupiah
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo promised on Monday that the government will not intervene in monetary policy decisions by the central bank in response to a weakening rupiah currency. “The government will not intervene in monetary (policy) because it is the policy of Bank Indonesia,” Widodo told reporters, adding that he believed the fundamentals of Southeast Asia’s largest economy were “good”. BI Governor Agus Martowardojo last week said he would be prepared to raise the benchmark interest rate if the rupiah’s weakness threatened the bank’s inflation target or disrupted financial market stability. The rupiah has been trading near its lowest since January 2016 in the past week. It traded at 13,870 a dollar at 0310 GMT Monday. (Reporting by Maikel Jefriando; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Kim Coghill) … [Read more...] about Indonesia president pledges no government intervention in monetary policy amid weak rupiah
Financial system remains stable: BI
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The financial system remains stable and the bank intermediation function continues to improve, Bank Indonesia (BI) Executive Director for Communications Agusman stated. "Maintained stability in the financial system is reflected in the high Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the banking industry, reaching 23.1 percent, and liquidity ratio, 23 percent, in February 2018," Agusman noted in a statement here on Monday. Meanwhile, the banking industry has maintained stable non-performing loans at gross 2.9 percent or net 1.3 percent. He remarked that easing the monetary and macroprudential policy was effectively reflected through the interest rate channel, with the banks inclined to lower their deposit and lending rates by 203 basis points (bps) and 155 bps respectively since BI began easing its monetary policy. The banking industry reported credit growth at 8.2 percent year-on-year (yoy) in February 2018, up from 7.4 percent yoy a month earlier. On the other hand, … [Read more...] about Financial system remains stable: BI