Govt to get 50% Pertamina dividend<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives on Tuesday decided on a proposal
\nto increase the government's dividend from state-owned oil and
\ngas company Pertamina to 50 percent of net profits up from the
\nprevious 10 percent.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the House's state budget committee Benny Pasaribu
\nsaid that the hike in the dividend was necessary to provide more
\nfunding for expenditures such as maintenance costs, teachers'
\nwages, and for poverty eradication programs.<\/p>\n
"There is no way (to fund these expenditures) other than to
\nincrease domestic earnings and minimize other expenditures ...
\notherwise we would have to request more foreign loans," he said
\non the sidelines of a hearing with Minister of Finance Boediono
\nand Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro
\non the 2002 state budget.<\/p>\n
Pertamina has forecast a net profit of Rp 4.6 trillion
\n(US$459.4 million) for next year. Last year it recorded Rp 4.98
\ntrillion in net profits.<\/p>\n
Benny admitted that the government may not be able to make a
\ndecision immediately on the proposal, but that he hoped it would
\neventually agree to the dividend increase.<\/p>\n
"We will give the government time to implement the
\ndividend ... we realize that the minister of finance may not be
\nable to decide right away," he said.<\/p>\n
Benny also noted that with the increased dividend percentage,
\nthe government would need to revamp the 1987 governmental decree
\nwhich stipulates that the government is entitled to a 10 percent
\ndividend of Pertamina's net profits.<\/p>\n
Other state-owned enterprises are required to pay between 45
\npercent and 50 percent to the government.<\/p>\n
Minister of Finance Boediono said that he would have to
\nconsult with other economic ministers before making the final
\ndecision.<\/p>\n
He added that the government had initially proposed the hike
\nto be 25 percent of Pertamina's net profits because that
\npercentage was "the safest" to ensure the company's continuity.<\/p>\n
An increase in the government's dividend portion would mean
\nless money for Pertamina to conduct future expansion, increase
\nproduction capacity, and finance projects such as exploration for
\nnew oil fields.<\/p>\n
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro
\nsaid that he does not yet know the number of investment plans and
\nprograms that needed to be scrapped because of the increased
\ndividend.<\/p>\n
"There are ongoing exploration programs ... and we do not know
\nif we can continue those, we have to consult first with Pertamina
\non this," he said.<\/p>\n
In a later hearing on Tuesday, the House also agreed on the
\ngovernment's revised tax ratio of 13.03 percent compared to the
\n12.08 percent initially proposed.<\/p>\n
Director General of Taxation Hadi Poernomo said that the
\npercentage was "the best" that the government could come up
\nwithout much disruption to the economy.<\/p>\n
He said that the 13.03 percent tax ratio would add
\napproximately Rp 185 billion to the 2002 state budget.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-get-50-pertamina-dividend-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}