Indonesia's stock exchange or BEJ extended stock trading halt on Thursday, after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered to take the step on Wednesday night and asked the state-owned firms to buy back their shares as many as possible and keep their U.S. dollars in the country, State-owned enterprises minister Sofyan Djalil said.
The decision was made after the president held a sudden meeting with economic ministers and officials at the State Palace.
Another meeting would be carried out on Thursday afternoon to decide whether to reopen the exchange on Friday.
"The BEJ is surely not opened tomorrow (Thursday). On Friday it might be opened but it would depend on the situation," Djalil told a press conference after the meeting Wednesday night.
The minister said that the extension aimed at protecting the index at the exchange from further decline.
"(The decision) is to protect the shares and stock market," he said.
The Indonesian stock market halted trading on Wednesday after the benchmark index plunged to 10 percent, the first time in eight years,
M.S. Hidayat, chairman of Indonesian chamber of industry and commerce, said the state-owned Enterprises Ministry would determine what type of shares that must be bought back.
"(The president asked) the state-owned firms to buy back as many as possible their shares. The type of the shares would be determined by the state owned enterprises ministry," he said after the meeting with President Susilo on Wednesday night.
"Then the companies must put their U.S. dollars in the country," said Hidayat.
Indonesian central bank on Tuesday raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.5 percent to slow inflation and boost rupiah.
Rupiah felt on Thursday to 9,650 against one U.S. dollar.
Source:Xinhua
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