Indonesia debt official hopes for S&P upgrade

Indonesia has long been a focus for foreign investors, having come a long way since its wrenching experience during the Asian financial crisis. Recently, it has burnished its status as a borrower and transformed from basket case to market darling, prompting FinanceAsia to name Indonesia its borrower of the year for 2011.

Investors may clamour for its paper, but the country still falls short of full investment-grade status. Both Moody’s and Fitch have upgraded Indonesia, but Standard Poor’s has kept its sovereign rating at BB, one notch below investment grade, which has meant that some emerging-market funds with mandates to buy investment-grade paper may not be able to...