Barry Porter – President Abdurrahman Wahid's reformist cabinet ministers have begun the huge task of resolving Indonesia's economic mess and restoring investor confidence.

The new economic team, which got down to work yesterday, has made all the right noises – promising to work closely with the International Monetary Fund and pledging clean government – but question marks remain over their ability.

In particular, the Indonesian media and analysts have expressed concern over the appointments of Finance Minister Bambang Sudibyo and Trade and Industry Minister Yusuf Kalla.

Mr Sudibyo stands accused of lacking economic knowledge, while Mr Kalla has been criticised for having too many dodgy friends from the old order and conflicting business interests.

Before announcing his 32-member cabinet Mr Wahid explained there would have to be compromises as he had political favours to repay.

More popular has been the appointment as economics co-ordinating minister of Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri's long-time confidant Kwik Kian Gie.

He is a respected ethnic Chinese economist, a well-known columnist, and a vocal critic of corrupt practices during former president Suharto's autocratic 32-year rule.

Yet even Mr Kwik has some convincing to do. His comments during June's general election campaign that he would re-introduce a fixed exchange rate against the US dollar drew a cold response from the IMF and financial markets.

He has since backtracked and yesterday reassured investors that the existing floating rate system was "the most appropriate system now".

Laksono Widodo, research head at ING Barings in Jakarta, said: "Kwik is honest and has integrity, but also known to be quick-tempered. As for the new finance minister, so little is known of him."

Foreign investors are not expected to come racing back in. Fund manager Mark Mobius, who oversees a US$12 billion global investment portfolio at Templeton Asset Management, said: "We are going to be really cautious. Foreign investment will come back, but only if they really show that reforms and rule of law is in place."

Mr Wahid has promised to make rule of law one of the foundations of his government, replacing the previous law of presidential whim. The new president has also pledged to make economic recovery one of his two top priorities, alongside restoring national integrity.

David Chang, research head at Trimegah Securities, said: "His policy speeches seem to be market friendly. He has been saying the right things, like he wants to attract foreign investors and reduce violence in various parts of the country."

However, Chong Yoon Chou, fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management, said: "The problem with Indonesia is always on the implementation side. We expect there will be bumps along the way. There is no doubt investor interest will come back again, but it is up to the new government to prove its credibility."

Logic would suggest that with such a huge chunk of political uncertainty out the way, the rupiah and Jakarta stock market would strongly rally. Instead, initial market response to Mr Wahid's and Ms Megawati's appointments has been lacklustre for a number of reasons.

Analysts say this is largely due to the Y2K computer bug problem. Most big international houses have implemented policies preventing their money managers from making fresh investments in countries believed to be most prone to the bug.

Indonesia, along with Russia, comes out top in many lists of least-prepared nations. Analysts say that, provided Indonesia comes through the year end without too many disruptions, and the new government can underline its credibility, a market rally is more likely in the new year.

Mr Kwik yesterday predicted the rupiah would rally to 6,000 to the US dollar, but gave no time-frame.

Finance Minister Sudibyo is close to National Mandate Party (PAN) head Amien Rais, one of the key opposition leaders who last year helped bring down Mr Suharto.

PAN did surprisingly poorly in the general election but still managed to wrangle a disproportionately high number of senior government posts.

Mr Amien – one of the so-called "three musketeers" alongside Mr Wahid and Ms Megawati – has become speaker of parliament.

Mr Sudibyo is chairman of PAN's economic advisory board and a member of the board of directors of the Centre for Strategy and Policy Studies in the central Javanese city of Yogyakarta.

He is also on the board of the leading Muslim organisation, Muhammadiyah, which Mr Amien headed before entering full-time politics last year.

Mr Sudibyo has spent most of his working life as a teacher and is director of the prestigious Gadjah Mada University business school.

He obtained his doctorate in accounting from Kentucky University, yet his relevant experience is being questioned.

"Apart from not being an economist, Bambang all this while has not given too much attention to the day-to-day economics in Indonesia," Revrisond Baswir, a Gadjah Mada University colleague, was quoted as saying in the Kompas daily.

Mr Sudibyo has said his most immediate task will be to "wash the dirty dishes" left by the past administration. "I count the bank restructuring programme among my most challenging tasks," he said. "The government will honour outstanding agreements with the IMF and other financial institutions."

Trade and Industry Minister Kalla, a prominent businessman, is a member of the former ruling Golkar Party and a close associate of outgoing president B.J. Habibie.

He has business and economics degrees, and is believed to be friendly with a number of former president Suharto's so-called cronies. Political analyst Soedjati Djiwandono said: "I am concerned."

His family are also prominent business people, owning the Hadji Kalla Group and holding a stake in heavy equipment manufacturer and distributor Bukaka Group. Mr Kalla heads two Bukaka subsidiaries, Bukaka Teknik Utama and Bukaka Investindo, posts he will no doubt now have to drop.

The appointment of a top military officer, Lieutenant-General Susilo Yudhoyono, as mines and energy minister has also raised eyebrows. He is not believed to have any relevant experience, whereas his predecessor, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, had been widely respected, even if his attempts to abolish the state oil and gas firm's monopoly failed.

"I did no manoeuvring for a cabinet post, so the announcement came as a surprise. I will try to learn quickly," he told the Jakarta Post.

Other key appointees to the economic team include former respected banker Laksamana Sukardi, as investment and state enterprises minister, and M. Prakosa as agriculture minister.