- VIVAnews/Nurcholis Anhari Lubis
VIVAnews – President Director of Bank Central Asia, Jahja Setiadmadja, said the regain of Indonesia’s rating to investment grade by Fitch Ratings will not have immediate effects on the national banking industry.
However, he said that the upgrade will still be beneficial for the nation. There will be more foreign investments coming in to Indonesia.
“Investment grade won’t promptly reduce expenses. But when we view this positively, foreign investment may flow to Indonesia rapidly. Liquidity would be in abundance.” Jahja told VIVAnews through SMS, Sunday, Dec 18.
“If liquidity overflows, the opportunity to reduce the interest rate is open. So, there would be a time lag for the next 6-9 months,” he said.
Other than the possibility of cutting interest rate, Jahja continued, Indonesia’s banks will be subjects to lower charges when proposing for foreign investment.
On the other hand, with regard to the volatility of rupiah’s exchange rate, Jahja stated that the investment grade will help the national currency to appreciate against foreign currencies.
Earlier, Chairman of the Indonesian Banks Association, Sigit Pramono, said that the upgrade will enable Indonesia’s banking industry to gain foreign loans with lower interest rate.
“Operational costs will surely decrease,” said Sigit in a text message to VIVAnews.
