Indonesia wants tighter foreign exchange rules on exporters to help rupiah

The import tax will be raised to up to 10 percent on 1,147 mostly consumer goods, from an existing 2.5 percent to 7.5 percent, effective next week, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawat(pic)i told a news briefing.

JAKARTA: Indonesian exporters must keep their earnings in the country to support efforts by the government to rein in the current-account deficit and shield the rupiah, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.

While legislation protects the free movement of capital, authorities want to tighten some rules on exporters amid a rout in the currency, Indrawati said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin in Hanoi yesterday.