STOCKS NEWS INDONESIA-Property developers are still optimistic - Citi

Indonesian residential developers are optimistic on the property sector, although there are plenty of questions on the macro outlook, Citi Research said in a note on Tuesday.

"The developers are not concerned about the potential increase in mortgage rates as their products are catering the middle- to middle-upper income segments, which are less sensitive to interest rate movements," Citi analyst Felicia Barus said.

Citi maintained its positive view on the sector, saying the property sector is currently trading at a 47 percent discount. The research house's top picks are Alam Sutera and Bumi Serpong Damai.

The Indonesian residential developers believe that the central bank's intention to lower the loan to value ratio will affect their presales, but say these can be circumvented by allowing buyers to make downpayments in longer monthly installments and working with the banks to provide attractive mortgage packages, the research house said.

The Jakarta property sector dropped 1.26 percent while the broader index was down 0.71 percent.

1111 (0411 GMT) (Reporting by Andjarsari Paramaditha; Editing by Supriya Kurane)