Indonesia’s financial sector in good condition, can withstand high U.S. rates – regulator

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s financial sector is in good condition, the regulator’s chief said on Monday, amid high U.S. interest rates and rising geopolitical risks.

Ample liquidity in the market and a well-managed risk profile showed the sector was stable, said Financial Services Authority (OJK) chief Mahendra Siregar.

“There is increasing optimism that our financial sector is able to protect itself against the ‘higher-for-longer’ U.S. rates and geopolitical risks,” he said in a press conference, sharing the results of OJK’s monthly meeting held last week to discuss the condition of the financial sector.

Last week, the rupiah hit its lowest level since 2020, around 15,900 a dollar, pushing the government to introduce fiscal incentives to support economic growth.

On Monday at 0300 GMT, the rupiah was trading at 15,920 a dollar, strengthening 0.09%.

(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)

tagreuters.com2023binary_LYNXMPEJ9T02L-VIEWIMAGE