Survey of recent developments

SUMMARY Despite a bomb attack in Jakarta in August, the main financial indicators of macroeconomic health have continued to improve. Inflation is much lower than in 2002, and the exchange rate has remained fairly stable. Public debt as a percentage of GDP continues to fall, and foreign exchange reserves to increase. Deposit and money market interest rates have declined further, although this has yet to translate into significantly lower lending rates. Share prices have also been increasing rapidly, and Moody's recently upgraded Indonesia's credit ratings. The markets responded calmly to the largely political decision to terminate the IMF program at the end of 2003, reassured by a relatively conservative budget for 2004, and by the articulation of a longer-term strategy of balancing the budget by 2005.