14 years on, RI back on its feet

JAKARTA. Indonesia finally regained an investment grade credit rating from Fitch Ratings, 14 years after losing the status following the country’s worst-ever financial crisis in 1997.

Fitch raised Indonesia’s sovereign rating for long-term foreign and local currency debts to BBB- from BB+, with a stable outlook.

“The upgrades reflect the country’s strong and resilient economic growth, low and declining public debt ratios, strengthened external liquidity and a prudent overall macro policy framework,” said Philip McNicholas, director of Fitch’s Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings group.

The BBB- rating is considered an investment grade indicating the country’s low risk for investment. The government is expecting other international rating agencies to follow suit.

Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Indonesia’s rating in January to Ba1, while in April, Standard & Poor’s raised the country’s rating to BB+, with a positive outlook. Both ratings are one level below investment grade.

Indonesia lost the investment grade rating in December 1997, during the Asian financial crisis, which severely hit the country’s financial sector.

Fitch projects GDP growth to average more than 6 percent per annum over the forecast period (until 2013), despite a less conducive global economic backdrop. Indonesia’s domestically oriented economy and success in delivering relatively strong economic growth without the creation of external imbalances, or a reliance on short-term external financing suggests economic growth prospects should prove resilient to external shocks, as was the case in 2008. Low public debt and positive real interest rates give the authorities policy flexibility to respond to any slowdown.

BI deputy governor Hartadi Sarwono said the upgrade would ensure better economic prospects for Southeast Asia’s largest economy as it minimized investment risks and reduced borrowing costs to support Indonesia’s economic financing.

“An upgrade amid the worsening global economy shows lowering risks for investment, making [Indonesia] more attractive for capital inflows,” Hartadi said in a mobile phone text message.

Rahmat Waluyanto, the director general of the Finance Ministry’s debt management office, said with surging capital inflows, including foreign direct investment (FDI), financing for infrastructure development would be more plentiful.

“Economic growth will accelerate further,” he said.

Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said the rating upgrade confirmed the market’s positive perception of
Indonesia’s debts. He said that without the new rating, Indonesia’s government bond market had been treated as an investment grade-rated nation with lower yields or interest rates compared to investment grade nations.

Fauzi Ichsan, a senior economist at Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia, said the “rating agencies caught up with the bond market”, which had priced sub-investment grade Indonesian and Philippine bonds higher than Italian and Spanish bonds, for example.

The Indonesian government last month collected $1 billion for seven-year US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds (sukuk) with a yield of 4 percent, beating out investment grade-rated Italy’s five-year bonds at 6.29 percent.

Fitch said long-standing structural weaknesses that needed to be resolved were poor physical infrastructure and corruption, which affected the business climate, as well as the low average income of S$3,600 versus the $9,800 average for investment grade nations.

Anggun C. Sasmi says she is “ecstatic” to represent France in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

“The show will be broadcast to millions of people across Europe,” the Indonesian-born singer said.”It’s a great honor.”

Although a French citizen since 2000, she still feels she has a foot in both nations, telling French newspaper Le Parisien that, “I eat as much rice as I do cheese”.

“I miss Indonesia a lot,” Anggun, 37, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. “The optimism, the generosity, the real sense of the word “family”. I miss the kindness, real kindness. Of course, life is not easy in any part of the world, but in Indonesia you don’t have to fight the wrong fight with the wrong people to obtain something you don’t even want.”

The birth of daughter Kirana, 4, with her French husband Cyril Montana and her role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador in the campaign to end hunger have given her new roles.

“Music gives me balance and identity, but my commitment to the world makes me happy.”

After 17 years abroad, she is considering a return to live in Asia one day. “Now that Kirana goes to school I tend
to get a bit worried about all the bad influences that she can get,” she said.

“I believe life in Asia is much easier because of the amount of kind people around. So, I’ll see about us relocating to Asia, probably Bali.” (Esther Samboh/The Jakarta Post)