Government calls off plan to merge SI and Sucofindo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government has canceled a plan to merge
\nstate-owned PT Surveyor Indonesia (SI) and another state-owned
\nsurveyor PT Sucofindo into one business entity.<\/p>\n
SI president Toga M. Sitompul said on Tuesday that although
\nthe two companies would be placed under the same holding company,
\nthey would be allowed to operate independently.<\/p>\n
He said the government was currently establishing 15 world-
\nclass holding companies to consolidate operations for the
\ncountry's 155 state enterprises.<\/p>\n
The merger was canceled because it would provide no advantages
\nin the operational and financial performances of the two
\nsurveyors, he said.<\/p>\n
\"So we put off the plan and are focusing more on studying the
\npossibility to operate under one holding company, because we
\nthink it is the best way to make the two firms more efficient.\"<\/p>\n
Toga said merging PT SI with its sister company PT Sucofindo
\nwould be unhealthy because it would \"encourage monopolistic
\npractices\".<\/p>\n
Legislators have been among those calling on the government to
\nmerge the two state surveyors. They said such a move would
\nimprove the efficiency of the companies and would eliminate
\ncompeting interests between the two firms.<\/p>\n
SI has also been blasted for its poor financial management.<\/p>\n
Toga denied the allegation, saying SI was a \"very healthy
\ncompany\" and had made a profit every year of the past three
\nyears. He also claimed that SI received more orders than its
\nsister company.<\/p>\n
However, he refused to provide details on the company's latest
\nfinancial performance to support his claim.<\/p>\n
He said SI had no problem with the merger proposal and would
\nbe happy to facilitate the process if the government, as the
\ncompany's majority shareholder, wanted to go ahead with the
\nmerger.<\/p>\n
\"But if the reason is just to create more efficiency I think
\nit's not valid, because SI is very efficient and is performing
\nwell.\"<\/p>\n
SI is 4 percent owned by Sucofindo, 20 percent by the Geneva-
\nbased Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) and the remaining 76
\npercent by the government.<\/p>\n
Sucofindo, which is 95 percent government-owned and 5 percent
\nby SGS, conducts preshipment inspections of the country's
\nexports.<\/p>\n
The company also operates as a quality management evaluator.<\/p>\n
In 1985, SI was assigned to conduct preshipment inspections of
\nimports at overseas ports. In 1997, SI's contract with the
\ngovernment expired. The preshipment system of imports was
\nreplaced by a postaudit system carried out directly by the
\nMinistry of Finance's Directorate General of Customs and Excise.<\/p>\n
Subsequently, SI became a competitor of Sucofindo, assessing
\nquality management assurances in the country and awarding the ISO
\n9000 and ISO 14000 certifications.<\/p>\n
It also entered other inspection businesses, including the
\nMoslem halal certification of food, assessing the value and
\nprices of aircraft, ships and other high-tech products.<\/p>\n
The company also provides quality and environmental management
\nservices, technical inspection and testing, appraisals and
\nindustrial consultancies.<\/p>\n
Toga said the two state surveyor firms did not duplicate each
\nother's work, because they had their own areas of specialization.<\/p>\n
He gave as an example the preshipment inspection of Indonesian
\nimports, an area in which SI had an extensive international
\nnetwork in comparison to Sucofindo.<\/p>\n
Toga said merging the two companies would be counterproductive
\nbecause Indonesia would need more surveyor and quality
\ncertification companies to boost the country's exports in the
\nfree trade era.<\/p>\n
\"More and more Indonesian companies will seek to have their
\nproducts accredited and certified because they can not sell their
\nproducts overseas without quality certifications,\" he said. (gis)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/government-calls-off-plan-to-merge-si-and-sucofindo-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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