Indonesia's parliament approved the appointment of Darmin Nasution as central bank governor on Thursday, as expected, a move seen as positive for the country's reform drive and for bonds, stocks and the currency. The challenges for Nasution, 61, a monetary policy dove who has been the acting governor for the past year, include the need to spur economic growth by keeping interest rates low, while curbing inflationary pressures and containing hot money inflows.
Nasution has maintained the central bank's key interest rate at a record low of 6.5 percent to aid bank lending and the economy, driving strong foreign buying at the short-end of the bond curve and pushing stocks to a record high.