Indonesia bombs jolt expats and investors

But he said the latest attacks hit a nerve because the luxury buildings were thought to be among the best guarded in the country, and because many of the victims were high-profile business people.

Indonesia's expatriate community is now much smaller than before 1998, when the regional economic crisis combined with the political chaos of the fall of long-time leader Suharto to trigger a mass exodus.

The foreigners who remain include many who speak the language, are pursuing long-term business plans, and have a vested interest in Indonesia's development.

However, newcomers and those planning postings to the gritty Indonesian capital are more jittery than the old hands.

“I don't want to go out tonight or really do anything. It's quite eerie. My parents are freaking out and want me to come home,” said Heidi Fullick, a 22-year-old teacher from Australia who has been here for four months.

“I heard the blast but I didn't tell them I go to the Ritz for salsa classes at least once a week,” she said. “I don't think it'll change what I do on a regular basis, though.”

Indonesia, a diverse but mainly Muslim archipelago of 234 million people, has emerged from years of crisis to become an engine of growth in Asia and an unlikely beacon of democracy in an increasingly unstable region.

The stock market has already soared almost 50 percent this year and the economy is forecast to post growth of more than four percent in 2009, third only to China and India of the G20 group of rich and developing countries.

But Yodhoyono himself has said the attacks “will have wide effects on our economy, trade, tourism and image in the eyes of the world”.

The stock market and the rupiah currency were resilient Friday but analysts are tipping more volatility in the weekend ahead.

And on the holiday island of Bali, which is still recovering from bloody terror attacks seven years ago that killed over 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, tourism operators are seriously rattled.

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