JAKARTA ~

Indonesia hopes that the country does not feel significant impacts of the Greek crisis.

“The Greek condition is not new (to Indonesia). We hope its effects are not too considerable,” Director of Communications of Bank Indonesia Peter Jacobs said here on Monday.

Greece has confirmed that it cannot pay off debts worth 1.54 billion Euros to the International Monetary Fund.

According to Jacobs, as Indonesia has relatively small trade cooperation with Greece, the crisis is not expected to have much influence on the country’s economy.

However, he added that Indonesia will continue to closely monitor the way investors perceive the situation with regard to the volatility of the U.S. dollar.

“To what extent will it affect investors to push them to sell their assets to buy dollars so the greenback appreciates further? This is what will possibly affect (Indonesia). So it is all very situational,” he explained.

Jacobs further noted that Bank Indonesia will not hesitate to enter the market to conduct measured intervention if the volatility increased abnormally.

“We will keep monitoring developments outside the fundamental line,” he affirmed.

Meanwhile the Financial Services Authority (OJK) cautioned the financial industry regarding the impact of the Greek crisis, as it cannot forecast how long it will last, Head of OJK Board of Commissioners Muliaman D. Haddad stated.

“It is having a global impact. I am optimistic that it is only temporary, but we have to anticipate how long it will last. We must be aware and appeal to the management of the financial industry to remain cautious of its effects,” Haddad remarked here on Tuesday.

He pointed out that the standard procedure to anticipate this crisis is to maintain a close market watch and urge the financial industry to mitigate the current condition.

Moreover, he stressed on the importance to ably manage the risks to better face this situation.

Haddad believes that the Indonesian banking sector will not suffer liquidity problems due to the impact of the Greek crisis, as the condition was the result of global expectations regarding the current situation in Greece.

Meanwhile, President Director of Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) Tito Sulistio has expressed concern over the negative psychological impact of the Greek crisis on investors.

“The current condition in the capital market, which tends to be uncertain, is believed to be caused by Greece. The Chinese stock market has dropped around 30 percent. To me, this is what we fear,” he stated here on Tuesday.

He believes that the Greek crisis will only have a short-term impact on the investors at home, as the performance of listed companies is still relatively positive despite an economic decline.