President To Install New Finance Minister Soon

Jakarta, May 13 (Antara) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa has said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will install a definitive finance minister in the near future. "The president has set to install a new finance minister this week," Hatta Rajasa, who is concurrently acting finance minister, said here on Monday. The minister, however, declined to mention the name of the would-be finance minister. In response to journalists` questions about the candidate, Hatta Rajasa only said that the prospective new finance minister is a male, professional, and not from any political party. He denied a rumor that the vice chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Dradjad Wibowo, to occupy the ministerial post. "It is not true that Drajad Wibowo wants to be a finance minister. He is now being assigned in Europe," he said. Meanwhile, there are many speculations regarding the possible candidates of finance minister, including Head of Investment Coordinating Board Chatib Basri, Governor of Bank Indonesia Darmin Nasution and Deputy Finance Minister Anny Ratnawati. Chatib Basri was previously mentioned by the media as a strong candidate for the position. Since Finance Minister Agus Martowardodjo was appointed as the new Governor of Bank Indonesia, the central bank, President Yudhoyono has assigned Coordinating Minister Hatta Rajasa as acting finance minister, based on Presidential Decree (Decree) No. 45/2013, dated April 19.