'€œThe President will have made a decision this week and will soon inaugurate the new finance minister,'€ said Hatta, who is currently acting finance minister, in Jakarta on Monday as quoted by Antara news agency.

He declined to speculate on who would be installed as the new finance minister.

'€œJust wait until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow but [he will be installed] in the near future,'€ said Hatta.

He also denied rumors that National Mandate Party (PAN) deputy chairman Dradjad Wibowo had been picked by the President to take the finance minister'€™s position.

'€œIt'€™s not true that Mas Dradjad Wibowo will become finance minister. Mas Dradjad is currently working on his duty in Europe,'€ he said.

Earlier Hatta said that the new finance minister would be a professional and not come from a political party.

'€œHe is a professional and a non-party figure,'€ he said after accompanying Yudhoyono to a consultative meeting with House of Representatives leaders at the Presidential Office in Jakarta, on Monday.

Several names have been mentioned as potential candidates to take the finance minister position. They include Deputy Finance Minister Anny Ratnawati, BI Governor Darmin Nasution and Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Chatib Basri dubbed by many analysts as the strongest candidate for the job.

Former finance minister Agus Martowardojo has been selected as BI governor for 2013-2018, replacing Darmin Nasution, whose term expires in May. (asw/ebf)

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