Subsidized loans from state firms on target: Official<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned companies channeled about Rp 600
\nbillion (US$254.2 million) in cheap loans to small and medium-
\nscale enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives between 1989 and 1996,
\nDirector General of State Companies Bacelius Ruru said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"It's untrue that the amount is off target, though the
\nallocations have been reduced from 5 percent to between 1 percent
\nand 3 percent of state companies' net earnings, Ruru said.<\/p>\n
Ruru was addressing a workshop and exhibition on partnerships
\nbetween state-owned enterprises and small-scale businesses and
\ncooperatives organized by Yayasan Dharma Bhakti Astra, a
\nfoundation controlled by publicly-listed auto maker PT Astra
\nInternational.<\/p>\n
In absolute terms the state companies' allocations remain
\nlarge because of their steadily increasing net profits, he said.<\/p>\n
The 178 state companies recorded a combined pretax profit of
\nRp 9.32 trillion ($3.94 billion) last year, up 20.5 percent from
\n1994.<\/p>\n
Since 1989 the government has required state companies to set
\naside up to 5 percent of their after-tax profits to help small-
\nscale businesses and cooperatives.<\/p>\n
This year the allocation was reduced to 3 percent, because 2
\npercent of their after-tax profits have been allocated to Yayasan
\nDana Sejahtera Mandiri foundation, which aims to help people
\nliving below the poverty line.<\/p>\n
The government-sponsored Dana Sejahtera foundation was set up
\nin January to manage donations from companies and rich people to
\nfinance poverty alleviation programs.<\/p>\n
The foundation's founders include President Soeharto, in a
\npersonal capacity, businessmen Sudono Salim and Sudwikatmono and
\nState Minister of Population Haryono Suyono.<\/p>\n
Companies and individuals with after-tax incomes exceeding Rp
\n100 million a year are required to donate 2 percent of their
\nincomes to the foundation.<\/p>\n
Minister for Cooperatives and Small-Scale Enterprises Subiakto
\nTjakrawerdaya announced earlier this year that around Rp 540
\nbillion had been distributed to small-scale businesses and
\ncooperatives.<\/p>\n
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 99.8 percent or
\n33.4 million of the 33.5 million businesses in Indonesia in 1994
\nwere small enterprises, each with a turnover less than Rp 1
\nbillion a year.<\/p>\n
Minister Haryono said recently the Dana Sejahtera Mandiri
\nfoundation had collected Rp 321 billion, exceeding its original
\ntarget of Rp 250 billion.<\/p>\n
Dozens of SMEs and cooperatives are participating in the two-
\nday workshop and exhibition which will end today.<\/p>\n
Several heads of small businesses complained at the workshop
\nthat business partnerships between small and big companies did
\nnot work if the small firms were not reserved particular market
\nsegments.<\/p>\n
\"I understand that monopolies and oligopolies are the name of
\nthe game in certain industries,\" the head of a small business
\nfrom Sidoarjo, East Java, said.<\/p>\n
Yayasan Dharma Bhakti Astra chairwoman Rini M.S. Soewandi said
\nyesterday the Astra foundation had developed partnerships with
\nthousands of small and medium-scale enterprises and cooperatives
\nthrough subcontracting and other business links.<\/p>\n
The Dharma Bhakti Astra foundation was set up in May 1980. The
\nfoundation had established partnerships with 28,507 small firms
\nand cooperatives in 14 provinces by June this year. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/subsidized-loans-from-state-firms-on-target-official-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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