RI TURNS TO SWAP DEALS TO BOLSTER FINANCIAL SYSTEM

By Andi Abdussalam          Jakarta, Oct 14 (Antara) - With the global economic climate remaining uncertain, Indonesia has been extending or finalizing agreements on currency swap deals worth US$37 billion with several countries in an effort to shore up its financial system.          Indonesia has extended its bilateral currency swap agreement with China worth 100 billion yuan, or about US$15 billion, and signed similar swap deals with South Korea and Japan. RI's swap deal with South Korea is valued at US$10 billion. The deal with Japan is pegged at US$12 billion.          "By signing currency-swap agreements with the three economic partner countries, the government has received commitments worth US$37 billion for protecting the resilience of foreign exchange reserves," said Difi A Johansyah, Executive Director of the Communication Department of the Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI).          BI has adopted the policy as a stand-by measure to strengthen its forex reserves, he added.      "We need to take anticipatory steps in the face of uncertain global economic conditions in the future, including providing a guarantee on the adequacy of foreign exchange reserves," Difi said.          The government has also obtained a standby loan worth US$5.5 billion from multilateral partners to maintain the economic growth rate and ensure macroeconomic stability.