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Jakarta business paralyzed
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May 15, 1998: 7:36 a.m. ET
Trading virtually ceases as banks close, companies start evacuating staff
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JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNNfn) - Indonesian financial and commodity markets were virtually abandoned on Friday, swamped by fear in the aftermath of four days of rioting, arson and looting in Jakarta.
Banks were closed and most offices deserted. Overseas corporations started closing down operations and evacuating staff.
Although the city was quieter, there were reports of fresh riots and looting and many people stayed at home.
Rumors were rampant that President Suharto - now back in the country after cutting a state visit to Cairo short -- may call a special session of the Indonesian parliament to consider some kind of political reform.
However, protester demands that Suharto step down have grown in recent days, and analysts were unsure that the Indonesian people will now accept anything less.
Witnesses said the houses of some non-Indonesians in Jakarta's affluent southern suburbs were being looted and a huge shopping mall was set ablaze on the western edge of the city, killing more than 100 people.
The stock market was open but barely 20 percent of the seats were occupied and shares were traded in just six companies in the morning session.
With the banks closed, there was no trading of the Indonesian rupiah in Jakarta and banks offshore kept their activity to a minimum as the central Bank Indonesia said it was not doing any clearing.
Bank officials said it may resume clearing on Monday if the situation improves.
The rupiah was quoted at 10,500/11,500 to the dollar in Singapore, with the lack of liquidity reflected in the wide spread.
The Jakarta stock exchange composite index closed up 2.23 points at 405.93 with a mere 4.8 million shares traded.
The palm oil market was inactive with Jakarta traders at home and little activity in the north Sumatra commodities city of Medan.
Indonesia's major commodity port of Belawan in Medan was operating normally on Friday despite rumors of possible fresh riots in the North Sumatran city, officials said.
Most traders there stayed at home, saying rumors were rife of fresh rioting in the city brought to a standstill by rampaging mobs last week after the government imposed hefty rises on fuel and electricity prices.
Expatriates pulling out
Most international residents in the Indonesian capital were also holed up at home or in luxury hotels on Friday trying to get flights out of the riot-torn city or waiting for the violence to subside, embassy officials said.
At the airport, flights out of the country were full and no rooms were available at airport hotels. Witnesses said most of the flights were being filled by ethnic Chinese.
A growing number of companies have announced they were pulling their staff out of country.
The United States, Australia and Hong Kong urged their citizens to leave.
Three U.S. petroleum companies said they planned to evacuate non-Indonesian workers and their families from Jakarta but no disruptions in oil or natural gas production were reported.
Mobil Corp. (MOB) said it had pulled 90 people out of Jakarta and fellow U.S. oil companies Atlantic Richfield (ARC) and Conoco, a subsidiary of DuPont, announced plans to evacuate some workers and their families.
General Motors Corp. (GM) said Friday it stopped production at its Bekasi plant outside Jakarta, which makes Opel Blazers for the Indonesian market, and is withdrawing expatriate staff and their families.
-- from staff and wire reports
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