INDONESIA LIMITS OIL PRICE IMPACT-FINANCE MINISTER

  Indonesia has minimised the economic
  impact of falling oil prices, kept inflation within limits and
  boosted exports, Finance Minister Radius Prawiro said.
      Indonesia was badly hit by last year's steep plunge in
  crude prices, which cut revenue from oil exports by half.
      But Prawiro was quoted by Indonesian newspapers as telling
  President Suharto that inflation was kept to around nine pct in
  the financial year ending tomorrow, against around 4.3 pct the
  previous year.
      Exports were estimated to have risen by seven pct, he said,
  although he did not give complete figures.
      The depressed economy forms the main backdrop to general
  elections next month in Indonesia, a major producer of rubber,
  palm oil, tin, timber and coffee.
      Prawiro said 1986/87 had also been difficult because of the
  appreciation of currencies like the yen and the mark against
  the dollar, which increased Indonesia's debt repayments.
      He said the economy would have suffered more from the world
  economic recession if the government had not devalued the
  rupiah by 31 pct last September.
      In an editorial on the economic outlook, the Jakarta Post
  said the government must press ahead with measures to
  deregulate the economy to help boost non-oil exports.
      The English-language daily said bigger export earnings were
  needed to finance not only imports but also the country's
  growing foreign debt, estimated at around 37 billion dlrs.
      "About 50 pct of our foreign debt obligations fall due
  within the next three to five years and will steadily increase
  the debt servicing burden," the paper said.
      However, end-investors were seen bargain hunting in
  expectation of a further yen interest rate decline, dealers
  said.
      Most dealers were cautious in the face of the dollar's
  nosedive today and the possibility of a U.S. Interest rate
  rebound to halt further dollar depreciation.
      A 4.7 pct coupon and volume of 1,400 billion yen for the
  April 10-year bond proposed by the Finance Ministry this
  afternoon were taken favourably by the market.
  

