INDONESIAN FOREIGN DEBTS MANAGEABLE, CONABLE SAYS
Indonesia's foreign debts are a cause
for concern, but remain within manageable limits, World Bank
President Barber Conable said.
    He told a press conference before leaving for Tokyo that
Indonesia's rising debt-service ratio was a problem and cause
for concern. But he said it was not necessarily due to
imprudent borrowing and "it is still within an area of being
manageable."
    The bank estimates Indonesia has total foreign debts of
around 37 billion dlrs. The debt service ratio has risen to a
projected 33 pct for fiscal 1987/88, from 25 pct in 1986/87
ending March 31.
    Anything above 20 pct is considered high by bankers.
    Conable said the decline in world oil prices and the rise
in the value of the Japanese yen had increased the ratio by
reducing Indonesian exports and raising its debt repayments.
    Indonesian debt servicing of 6,760 billion rupiah takes up
almost one third of the 1987/88 budget.
    Payment on the principal of government debts is officially
projected at 2.73 billion dlrs in 1987/88 against 2.11 billion
in 1986/87.
    Conable linked an increase in World Bank lending to
Indonesia to implementation of further economic policy reforms.
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