ANALYSTS VIEWS: Indonesia Jakarta hotel bomb blasts

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Near-simultaneous bomb blasts ripped through the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta's business district on Friday, killing nine people and injuring 42 including foreigners and Indonesians, police said.

A car bomb had also exploded along a toll road in north Jakarta, police said. Indonesia's Metro TV said two people had been killed. No further details on that blast were available.

The bomb attacks, the first in several years, could severely dent investor confidence in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. The Indonesian government had made considerable progress in tackling security threats from militant Islamists in recent years, bringing a sense of greater political stability.

Islamist militants from the regional Jemaah Islamiah organization were blamed for numerous attacks between 2002-2005 in Indonesia, including bombings on the island of Bali in 2002 that killed 202 people. Many militants have since been arrested.

SIDNEY JONES, EXPERT ON ISLAMIC MILITANTS, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP, JAKARTA

"It's more likely to be a splinter group than JI itself, which doesn't mean you couldn't have JI members but it's very unlikely to be JI as an organization behind this attack."

CALLUM HENDERSON, CHIEF GLOBAL CURRENCY STRATEGIST, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK, SINGAPORE

"This is a tragic event. Market reaction to date has been relatively muted in anticipation that the government will stay on course and that policies will remain unchanged.

"Indonesia remains a fundamentally good story, thanks in large part to the excellent policies of the government in the last few years.

"It will take time to stabilize again, but we remain overweight on the rupiah."

SEAN CALLOW, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, WESTPAC, SYDNEY

"I would say it damages foreign investor confidence since the attacks appear aimed at Westerners, but not shatter it, so long as there is no further violence for some time.

"Bank Indonesia should be able to keep a lid on dollar/rupiah short term, but it will have a lasting negative impact multi-week, multi-month.

"It solidifies my short-term bias toward buying dollar/rupiah on dips, especially since the rupiah is still up 18 percent since March."

TIM CONDON, HEAD OF ASIA RESEARCH, ING, SINGAPORE

"I liken it to North Korea risks to South Korean assets. Typically it causes a short spike in selling pressure -- but the operative word is short.