Indonesian economy comes up for air, struggles to win back investors

JAKARTA, June 14 (AFP): Indonesia's economy faces a perfect storm wrought by high energy prices, and while the currency has rebounded slightly, critics warn government policies are unnerving investors at a critical moment.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy, a net oil importer, was hit hard by the global surge in crude prices fuelled by the Middle East war.
To shield its citizens, the government has insisted on maintaining a costly subsidy on fuel and a multi-billion-dollar school meal programme criticised for being wasteful as well as causing mass food poisoning.
At a time when Indonesia desperately needs foreign currency, authorities spooked investors with tighter export controls lambasted as "resource nationalism", while a move by parliament to tighten oversight of the central bank raised fears for its independence.
The rupiah has plummeted, hitting successive record lows and dropping below 18,100 to the dollar this week.
The stock market has lost about a third of its value since the start of the year -- one of the worst performances globally -- as traders increasingly "sell Indonesia".