When the global financial crisis has led many investors and banks to hoard the greenback, the Indonesian government asked large state enterprises to exchange their saved dollars for rupiah to support the local currency.
These companies include oil producer PT Pertamina, power firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, tin producer PT Timah, mining company PT Aneka Tambang, coal producer PT Bukit Asam, petrochemical company PT Pupuk Kaltim and several state plantation companies.
"We asked them to consider the country's economic condition. U.S. dollars owned by state companies could add to the country's foreign reserves," Antara news agency quoted State Minister for State Enterprises Sofyan Djalil as saying on Wednesday.
The companies were told to coordinate with the central bank about the currency exchange, Sofyan said.
"They will report their treasury management strategies regularly to the government and the central bank," he added.
The rupiah dropped by as much as 2 percent to 9,763 to the dollar before closing time on Wednesday -- the lowest it has been since January 2006 -- despite the central bank raising its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.5 percent earlier on Tuesday.
Separately, Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) halted all trading just after 11 o'clock on Wednesday, after the key index dropped by more than 10 percent for a second time this week.
Source:Xinhua
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