Bank Indonesia relaxes derivatives rules to rein in rupiah

Jakarta

BANK Indonesia is relaxing rules on derivatives in an attempt to double derivatives' role in the onshore foreign exchange market by 2020 and rein in swings in Asia's most-volatile currency.

The central bank wants to raise the proportion of such contracts including forwards and swaps to 50 per cent of the US$5 billion to US$6 billion of daily currency trading, from less than 30 per cent, Nanang Hendarsah, head of the authority's financial market deepening task force, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.