* Singapore central bank keeps policy unchanged
* Rupiah extends last week's losses
* Asian stocks post gains

By Roushni Nair
       Jan 29 (Reuters) - Asian currencies were subdued on
Monday, with the Indonesian rupiah extending losses on concerns
the country's finance minister may resign, while Singapore's
dollar was largely flat after monetary policy was left
unchanged, as expected. 
    The Indonesian rupiah, among one of the worst
performing currencies so far in 2024 after falling nearly 3%,
slipped 0.2% by 0320 GMT. In the past week alone, the currency
has declined by more than 1% against the dollar. 
    Confidence in the rupiah has faltered over the last two
weeks following local media reports that Indonesia's Finance
Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati could quit ahead of the Feb. 14
presidential election, which raised questions about the
country's fiscal outlook.
    The Singapore dollar was muted after the Monetary
Authority of Singapore, which has moved to a quarterly meeting
schedule in 2024 from a semi-annual schedule, left its policy
unchanged for a third time following five consecutive tightening
moves since October 2021.
    "We cannot rule out a small probability of another policy
tightening, if inflation turns out higher than expected due to
geopolitical shocks, better-than-expected global growth or a
pick-up in domestic price pressures due to the pass through of
accumulated business costs...," analysts at Maybank wrote. 
    Along the same lines, analysts at Barclay's said the
likelihood of foreign exchange policy easing this year in
Singapore is lower than what most market participants are
pricing in.
    The regional calendar for the week includes PMI's from
across the continent, with fourth quarter growth figures from
Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and the latest inflation
figures from Indonesia and South Korea.
    While China's efforts last week to support its ailing
markets helped lift sentiment, a court order to liquidate
property giant China Evergrande Group could deepen the
crisis in the sector and dampen investor confidence in Southeast
Asia's largest trading partner. 
    The Chinese yuan was unchanged, while stocks in
Shanghai were up 0.3%. 
    Among other currencies in the region, Thailand's baht
 and the Taiwanese dollar were both up 0.2%.
    Ongoing fiscal uncertainty has weighed on the baht after the
Bank of Thailand faced repeated requests from the government to
cut rates amid concerns of a weakening economy, however the
currency has managed to inch higher for four straight sessions. 
    The Philippine peso led losses to give up 0.3%, while
the Malaysian ringgit was flat, last down 0.1%.
    Equities in the region were mostly trading higher, extending
a relief rally from last week on measures by Beijing designed to
shore up the equity market and boost the recovery of the world's
second largest economy.
    Shares in South Korea led the charge to gain 1.43%,
while those in India were up nearly 1%. Stocks in
Indonesia and Malaysia were each up 0.5%. 
    MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
 was up by 0.7%, notching a near 2-week high. 
       
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields largely held steady
at 6.640% 
    ** HK court orders China Evergrande to liquidate with debts
of $300 bln

  Asia stock indexes and currencies                           
 at 0335 GMT                                            
 COUNTRY   FX RIC          FX     FX     INDEX  STOCKS  STOCKS
                      DAILY %  YTD %             DAILY   YTD %
                                                     %  
 Japan                  +0.00  -4.79             0.92    8.38
 China                                                 
 India                  -0.03  +0.08              0.00   -1.74
 Indonesi               -0.06  -2.72              0.02   -1.85
 a                                                      
 Malaysia               -0.08  -2.94              0.46    4.02
 Philippi               -0.24  -1.88             -0.40    3.24
 nes                                                    
 S.Korea                                               
 Singapor               +0.01  -1.61              0.07   -2.43
 e                                                      
 Taiwan                 +0.22  -1.60              0.51    0.87
 Thailand               +0.11  -4.03              0.06   -3.31
 
    
 (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru)