EMERGING MARKETS-Indonesian shares rise after c.bank holds rates, rupiah firms

* BI maintains rates at record low * Taiwan stocks close at two-week high * Singapore's GDP grows 1.3% year-on-year, shares rise By Harish Sridharan May 25 (Reuters) - Indonesian shares inched higher on Tuesday, after the central bank left rates unchanged as expected, while the rupiah and other emerging Asian currencies also firmed on a weaker U.S. dollar. Overnight gains on Wall Street helped lift Asian shares, while the dollar held near a four-month low after Federal Reserve officials allayed fears about monetary policy tightening. Indonesian shares gained as much as 1.5% earlier in the session, but lost some ground before Bank Indonesia (BI) decided it would keep rates unchanged at 3.5%. The rupiah, favoured by foreign investors looking to tap Indonesia's high-yielding bonds, gained 0.2%. The currency has come under renewed pressure this year amid capital outflows, and is down around 2% so far in 2021. BI said it sought to maintain support for Southeast Asia's biggest economy, ensuring stability in financial markets amid the risk of outflows. "It's very much in line with expectations," said Mitul Kotecha, Chief EM Asia and Europe strategist at TD Securities. "In our view, one of the key reasons they held rates was not to provoke any adverse reaction in the rupiah. The reality is that there is no urgency to easy policy at the moment," he said. Elsewhere, equities in Taiwan closed 1.6% higher at a two-week high. In Singapore, stocks gained 0.6% as the city-state's economy expanded more than first thought, but struck a cautious note about recovery due to uncertainties from the COVID-19 pandemic. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Top gainer on the Jakarta stock index was Hotel Fitra International Tbk PT, up 32.33% ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields are down 0.6 basis points at 6.446% ** Min Aik Technology Co Ltd and Ampacs Corp top gainers on the Taiwan SE Weighted Index Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0813 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCK DAILY YTD % X DAILY S YTD % % % Japan -0.04 -5.09 <.N2 0.67 4.04 25> China EC> India +0.19 +0.33 <.NS 0.13 8.84 EI> Indones +0.17 -1.99 <.JK 0.91 -2.73 ia SE> Malaysi +0.02 -2.97 <.KL 0.06 -3.35 a SE> Philipp -0.29 -0.31 <.PS 0.52 -13.2 ines I> 1 S.Korea 11> Singapo +0.02 -0.47 <.ST 0.61 10.51 re I> Taiwan +0.27 +2.18 <.TW 1.58 12.65 II> Thailan +0.00 -4.43 <.SE 0.90 8.04 d TI> (Additional reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)