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224 政府改组后印尼货币升值
Indonesia Currency Strong After Change in Government
Alisha Ryu
Hong Kong
24 Jul 2001 14:01 UTC
Indonesia's battered currency, the rupiah, is soaring on hopes that the government of newly-installed President Megawati Sukarnoputri will seriously focus on 1)reviving the country's near-bankrupt economy.
The Indonesian rupiah 2)breached the psychologically-important 10,000 level Tuesday, strengthening to a four-month high of 9,800 rupiahs to the dollar.
The rupiah's climb follows Monday's huge, one-day 3)rally. The currency gained 11 percent as Indonesia's highest legislative body announced it was replacing 4)beleaguered Muslim cleric Abdurrahman Wahid with his vice president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, after months of political 5)turmoil.
Jakarta-based business 6)consultant James Castle says markets had been desperate for a positive change in leadership. "It's proof of how much the political stalemate was hurting the economy," Mr. Castle said. "I think everyone was worried about stalemate and I think they are glad the result was decisive and it came without violence."
There has been no sign of 7)unrest in Jakarta or in Mr. Wahid's political heartland of East Java so far. Some of the former leader's supporters had 8)vowed to die to keep him in power.
If the peace holds, the new government is expected to immediately move on 9)implementing broader economic reforms as mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In December, the IMF froze a $400 million (10)loan over a (11)slew of failed reforms.
Analysts say the release of the loan which is a part of a much larger $5 billion loan program - is vital for Indonesia to open the way for more foreign aid and to (12)lure investors back. The IMF has warned that Jakarta's ballooning (13)budget deficit could soon hit an unmanageable level without urgent reforms.
But Mr. Castle says it is still too early to say what President Megawati's economic team can (14)accomplish. "We'll see when the cabinet gets named, how soon it gets named and who's in it," Mr Castle said. "They have certainly identified the problems. It's a question of whether they have the political strength and will to aggressively pursue them."
Mr. Castle believes Ms. Megawati needs to focus on keeping the rupiah strong to help reduce the budget deficit. Most of the deficit stems from (15)crushing debts Indonesia had to repay after the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
(1) revive[rI5vaIv]v.(使)苏醒, (使)复兴, (使)复活
(2) breach[bri:tF]n.违背, 破坏, 破裂, 裂口vt.打破, 突破
(3) rally[5rAlI]v.重整旗鼓, 给予新力量, (使)恢复健康n.集会
(4) beleaguer[bI5li:^E(r)]vt.围, 围攻
(5) turmoil[5t:mCIl]n.骚动, 混乱
(6) consultant[kEn5sQltEnt]n.顾问, 商议者, 咨询者
(7) unrest[Qn5rest]n.不安的状态, 动荡的局面
(8) vow[vaJ]n.誓约v.宣誓, 立誓, 发誓
(9) implement[5ImplImEnt]n.工具, 器具vt.贯彻, 实现v.执行
(10) loan[lEJn]n.贷款, 借出v.借, 借给
(11) slew[slu:]v.回转
(12) lure[lJE(r)]v.引诱
(13) budget deficit n. 预算赤字
(14) accomplish[E5kQmplIF]vt.完成, 达到, 实现
(15) crushing[`krQFIN]adj.决定性的
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