Finance Minister Welcomes Japans Offer to Replace the IMF

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Indonesian Minister of Finance Boediono has said he welcomes the Japanese governments commitment to provide loans after Indonesia quits the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. I think this offer is good. It could be used as an alternative financing source, Boediono said following a Friday prayer session at the Ministry of Finance, Jakarta, today (02/05). State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Laksamana Soekardi said yesterday that the Japanese government has offered to provide loans for Indonesia. According to Boediono, the offer made by Japanese government could be used as a financing option for the 2004 State Budget. The financing, which comes from foreign countries, will be focused on soft loans. Boediono admitted that every domestic loan would always have risk currency. If the government used letters of credit, he added, the cost burden would be even higher. Boediono said that the cheapest way is for Indonesia to have delayed payment of principal debt and interest from the Paris Club, as it currently enjoys. According to Boediono, the Paris Club countries refuse to delay Indonesias debt payments should there be no guarantee from the IMF. He added that the financing of the 2004 State Budget would be difficult if the debt rescheduling was no longer in force. The government will focus on tightening the State Budget as a state-financing alternative. Without the Paris Club, Boediono said, the government will try to hold a bilateral forum that includes all IMF creditors. We have to get certification from these creditors, he stated.(Bagja Hidayat-Tempo News Room)