Antara & Nur Yasmin, Jakarta – Sri Mulyani Indrawati is widely expected to continue in her role as finance minister in the second-term administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, a recent survey showed.

"When we asked investors and market players, most indicated that they expected Sri Mulyani to serve as finance minister again, or as coordinating minister for economic affairs," Metta Dharmasaputra, chief executive of Katadata Insight Center, said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Katadata interviewed 260 investment managers at investment management firms, retirement funds and insurance companies, responsible for a combined Rp 700 trillion ($50 billion) in the country's bond and stock markets, between June 24 and July 2.

Metta said based on current challenges in the global economy, Sri Mulyani is seen as a strong figure in her role and that her re-appointment would also mean minimal changes to the country's investment regulations.

"Sri Mulyani is very worthy of being retained in the cabinet. It would be a barometer itself to gain investors' trust to invest in Indonesia," Metta said.

"According to our respondents, ideally, the cabinet should be filled completely or partly by pure professionals," he added.

According to the survey, 32 percent of respondents want a balance between professionals and politicians in the cabinet, while only 3 percent consider political party figures as ideal in roles involving economic affairs.

Nearly all investors, or 96 percent, want a professional as finance minister, while 3 percent prefer a political party-affiliated professional. The remainder want a political figure.

Investors also expect the president to appoint a professional as chief economy minister.

"If Jokowi wants to sprint over the next five years, in accordance with his vision, the cabinet must be capable, solid and comprised of professional technocrats," Metta said.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/context/investors-want-sri-mulyani-as-finance-minister-again