Jakarta (ANTARA News/Reuters) - Indonesia has announced a $6.5 billion fiscal stimulus package in its latest measure to support Southeast Asia's biggest economy amid a sharp global downturn.

Below is a summary of steps taken by the government to counter the economic slowdown.


* FISCAL STIMULUS
      
The finance ministry on Jan. 5 announced plans to spend more than 72 trillion rupiah ($6.55 billion) on infrastructure and other projects to lift growth and create jobs, and said 51.3 trillion rupiah of unspent funds carried over from the 2008 budget may also be used for further stimulus measures.

             
* REGIONAL GOVT SPENDING
      
Provincial governments will receive an additional 30 trillion rupiah to spend on infrastructure.

             
* FUEL PRICE CUTS
      
The government cut fuel prices twice in December after a steep drop in global oil prices, reducing the price of subsidised gasoline by a total of 17 percent and diesel by 13 percent.
           
By cutting energy costs, which feeds into lower inflation, it hopes to see an increase in domestic spending.
             
      
* INTEREST RATE CUT
      
Bank Indonesia (BI) cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 9.25 percent on Dec. 4, and is expected to cut further this week (Jan. 7) in a bid to spur growth.
             
      
* CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS
      
To halt a plunge in the rupiah currency and cut down speculative trading, BI imposed restrictions on currency transactions.
           
With effect from Nov. 13, foreign currency purchases equivalent to $100,000 or more, per month, must be supported by actual underlying transactions.
           
State-owned enterprises were urged to repatriate dollars and keep them with onshore banks.
             
      
* RUPIAH AVAILABILITY
      
The central bank on Oct. 14 introduced measures to increase the availability of dollars for banks and companies.
           
It lowered the minimum reserve requirement for foreign exchange deposits by commercial banks at BI to 1 percent, from 3 percent, and scrapped limits on the daily balance of short-term foreign borrowings.
             
      
* BANK SAFETY NET
      
The government lifted the maximum bank deposit guarantee to 2 billion rupiah, from 100 million rupiah previously, on Oct. 13 to bolster confidence in the domestic banking system and prevent a run on deposits.
             
      
* STOCK MARKET MEASURES
      
Indonesia Stock Exchange halted trading on Oct. 8 after trading for part of the day, and reopened on Oct. 12, in a bid to halt a slump in stock prices. It also set 10 percent limits on daily share price movements, later increasing the upside limit to 20 percent.
           
The authorities eased accounting rules regarding mark-to-market measures and made it easier for companies to do share buybacks. (*)