"I predict that within the next six months we will see a significant return of capital, " says Sudamek Sunyoto, deputy chairman of the Chinese Indonesian Association.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Indonesia: Too Many Cooks?

Foreigners, mostly Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian and Indian, made up 36% of all new-home sales so far this year.

WSJ: Property Prices Cool Across Asia

But there is definitely a lot of interest, especially in the Indian rupee, dollar, Indonesian rupee and Chinese yuan.

WSJ: Managing in Asia: Hariharan; Singapore Mercantile Exchange Finds the Pulse of Commodities Trading

After crossing into Australia, they penetrated north into the Indonesian archipelago - almost returning to their Chinese homeland.

BBC: Australia's marsupials 'have American roots'

Both a lovely example of what happens when colonial and Chinese architectural styles blend, the mansion is also a monument to the entrepreneurial skill and posturing that, to this day, animates the local " Baba Nonya" community, descendants of those Chinese merchants who settled in the great Malay and Indonesian archipelagos.

BBC: Penang: Malaysia in miniature

Hashim also stood out as a pribumi, an indigenous Indonesian, in contrast to the ethnic-Chinese business class that thrived under Suharto.

FORBES: On The Cover/Top Stories

Merpati, an Indonesian airline, has been in dispute with a Chinese supplier over its contract to buy 15 propeller aircraft.

ECONOMIST: The rise of Chindonesia

Others might go to well-connected ethnic-Indonesian businessmen, who resented the influence of ethnic-Chinese businessmen under Mr Suharto and now expect special treatment.

ECONOMIST: Nationalising Indonesia

It is no secret that Mr Habibie has courted support in strongly Islamic sections of Indonesian society, and that many Muslims resent the privileges some Chinese had under Mr Suharto.

ECONOMIST: The ethnic Chinese in Indonesia continue to live in fear

While the Indonesian and South Korean pairs both unsuccessfully appealed the decision, the Chinese sporting authorities accepted the ruling and the country's head badminton coach apologized for the players' behavior.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Indeed, even Indonesian maids (after Filipinas, the largest group of amahs), and Chinese or foreign passers-by who linger for even a moment are likely to be invited to share the snacks.

ECONOMIST: Out of misery, some extraordinary lessons

Indonesian workers, the World Bank calculates, are far less efficient than their Indian and Chinese counterparts.

ECONOMIST: Enemies of promise