Politics makes Mulyani move
Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Wed, May 05 2010, 1:11 PM
Politics played an important role in Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati's decision to move to the World Bank as a managing director, Citi analyst Johanna Chua said Wednesday.
Mulyani is set to start June 1 in Washington DC in a senior position next to President Robert Zoellick.
"Overall, we think the environment for Sri Mulyani to function effectively as a finance minister, not to mention the overall personal fulfillment from the job, has likely been undermined by politics," she said in a statement, citing lawmakers' disapproval of the Bank Century bailout made by Mulyani.
Chua said Anggito Abimanyu, head of the Finance Ministry's fiscal policy office, might be a possible replacement because of his "known figure among bond investors".
"Her departure is likely to be seen negatively by the market, not to mention that Indonesia has not had a Bank Indonesia governor in almost a year," she said.
"Thus, vacancies in two of the most important economic posts will raise some concerns about the credibility of macro policies and the pace of reforms," she added.
