JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati is among candidates being considered to be the next central bank governor, replacing the current chief whose term will end in May, local news websites reported on Monday.
Under a recently revised central bank law, President Joko Widodo must submit at least one name to parliament by February, to allow time for lawmakers to conduct a fit-and-proper test for candidates before selecting the best person for the job.
Bank Indonesia’s (BI) current governor Perry Warjiyo was also being considered for a second and last term, Detik.com reported, citing an unnamed source. The news portal also listed the head of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, and BI’s senior deputy governor, Destry Damayanti, as other potential candidates.
Kumparan.com reported Purbaya, Sri Mulyani and Warjiyo as names under consideration but did not cite any sources.
Purbaya declined to comment on his potential candidacy when contacted by Reuters on Monday. The president’s office and others named by the media did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Warjiyo, in an interview with Bloomberg News last week, said he believed Widodo would choose the best person to lead BI, but did not provide details.
BI has lifted interest rates by 225 basis points since August as part of the central bank’s post-pandemic tightening cycle.
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman, Ananda Teresia, Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
