Govt, state bank to 'save' Dayak mill<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo
\nsaid yesterday that his office and the state-owned Bank Rakyat
\nIndonesia would \"rescue\" the troubled plywood factory owned by
\nthe Dayak Besar Group in East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
\"We will rescue the plywood mill because we are concerned
\nabout their workers,\" the minister said during a ceremony for the
\nsigning of an agreement between six state banks and his office.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin did not specify what he meant by \"rescue\". He
\nhinted, however, that it might involve a takeover of the plywood
\nmill.<\/p>\n
\"We are going to carry out this rescue operation with Bank
\nRakyat Indonesia and other competent plywood firms,\" he said
\nwithout going into detail.<\/p>\n
Dayak Besar Group, currently under sanctions by the forestry
\nministry, owes around Rp 350 billion (about US$159 million) to a
\ngroup of private banks.<\/p>\n
Dayak Besar Group, which is partially controlled by
\nbusinessman Yusuf Hamka, reportedly dismissed its 2,400 workers
\nwithout prior warning last month.<\/p>\n
The massive dismissal came after the forestry ministry banned
\ntwo of its subsidiaries from transporting their logs and sawn
\ntimber from their forest concessions in East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said the sanctions were passed because PT Dayak
\nBesar Vincent Timber Co. and PT Gelora Dayak Besar, two of the
\ngroup's subsidiaries which control close to 200,000 hectares of
\nforest concessions, had repeatedly violated forestry rules.<\/p>\n
The two firms had also barred forestry officials from post-
\nauditing their performance, Djamaludin said.<\/p>\n
The minister also warned yesterday that if Dayak Besar tried
\nto obstruct the \"rescue operation\" by marking up the net value of
\ntheir troubled plywood mill, he would \"seize all of their forest
\nconcessions.\"<\/p>\n
Djamaludin said that under yesterday's agreement, he plans to
\nallocate around Rp 400 billion of reforestation funds to finance
\nthe development of various timber estates this year.<\/p>\n
The funds, which are collected as forestry levies from
\nconcessionaires, have so far reached around Rp 2 trillion,
\nDjamaludin said. (hdj)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-state-bank-to-save-dayak-mill-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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