Hundreds of members of the Islamic hard-line group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia demonstrated against the imminent arrival in Bali of US President Barack Obama at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Wednesday.

"Obama's visit is only to lay further claim to continuing exploitation of Indonesia's natural resources," Faisal Abas, the head of Hizbut Tahrir's Jakarta chapter, said during his speech on Wednesday.

Faisal said that the exploitation could be seen in the large number of US companies currently operating in Indonesia, such as Chevron, ExxonMobil and Freeport.

Various hard-line groups around the country critical of the United States and Obama have been staging protests since Sunday.

"HTI members will also cross from East Java to Bali to rally on [Obama's] arrival day," said Irwan Syaifulloh, a senior HTI member. "HTI's role is to make Muslims aware. If Obama still comes, we will continue the struggle."

Obama is scheduled to arrive in Bali on Thursday or Friday to attend Asean and East Asia Summit in Nusa Dua.