17 JANUARY 1998, Page 25

Paper money

IT is worth remembering at such times that troubles and recoveries come round in cir- cles. Not so long ago, Indonesia suddenly found itself knee-deep in forged rupiah notes. This was rightly taken as a positive indicator. Until then, the rupiah had been losing value so fast that it could not repay the forgers' efforts. At least the new notes were worth the paper they were forged on.