JAKARTA (DPA) — A decade ago Indonesia could be dismissed as the sick man of Asia, but hard-won economic and political stability has put the world’s fourth most populous country back on the global investment radar screen.

For the first time since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis that hit Southeast Asia’s largest economy the hardest, Japan’s rating agency upgraded Indonesian debt to investment grade this month.

There are also expectations that the world’s three leading rating agencies – Standard and Poor’s, Fitch Ratings, and Moody’s Investor Service – will make similar moves soon, analysts said.

“Where else can investors go to after China and India?’’ said Fauzi Ichsan, chief economist for Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia. “There are several things that make Indonesia attractive: It has political stability and it is the biggest market in Southeast Asia with 240 million people, a growing middle class, and abundant natural resources,’’ he said.

Ichsan said he was confident that the three global rating agencies would upgrade Indonesia’s rating to investment grade before 2012.

“Indonesia’s macroeconomic indicators are better than some investment grade economies,’’ he said.

Moody’s Investors Service last month upgraded its outlook for Indonesia’s debt and currency, the rupiah, to positive from stable, citing stability and growth potential.

Indonesia’s economy is expected to grow six percent this year, compared with 4.5 percent in 2009, the fastest in the world after China and India. Investment, both foreign and domestic, rose 40 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, the head of the Investment Coordinating Board, Gita Wirjawan, said last week.

“These figures are really encouraging and show that steps we have been taking are bearing fruit,’’ said Wirjawan, a 44-year-old former investment banker with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. “Confidence among foreign investors in Indonesia’s investment climate has improved,’’ he said.

The board said realized foreign direct investment stood at 35.4 trillion rupiah (3.92 billion dollars) in the first quarter, an increase from 25 trillion rupiah year-on-year. The Asian financial crisis crippled Indonesia after years of strong economic growth and contributed to riots in the capital Jakarta that led to the downfall of long-time dictator Suharto in 1998.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was elected for a second five-year term in 2009, has been credited with steering Indonesia to economic and political stability after years of turmoil that followed the strongman’s departure.