RUPIAH STRENGTHENS ON HIGH DEMAND FOR LOCAL CURRENCY

Jakarta, Oct. 5 (ANTARA) - The rupiah strengthened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here on Monday morning as investors actively bought the local currency in a large amount.

The Indonesian currency traded at Rp9,555-9,565 per US dollar, up 75 points from Rp9,630-Rp9,645 at the market's close last weekend.

The local unit was on high demand because investors needed the currency to buy bounds in the money market, Harry Kurniawan, a domestic money market observer, said here di Jakarta,
A number of state owned banks such as Mandiri, BRI and BTN were expected to issue bonds in order to attract to get cheap funds in the capital market, he said.

Bank BRI, for instance, planned to offers bonds worth Rp3 trillion, from the earlier target of Rp2 trillion, he said.

The rupiah could reach the level of Rp9,300 per US dollar if foreign investments increased, he said.

The Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) here on Monday morning opened lower on Astra, bank and telecommunication falls.

The BEI index plunged 15.586 points or 0.67 percent to 2,463.92 points, and the LQ-45 index weakened 4.207 points or 0.86 percent to 483.094 points.