Finance Minister Reports Plan to Take Over PNM to President
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has confirmed that he has reported his plan to take over PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (Persero), or PNM, to President Prabowo Subianto.
“I have reported it to the President as well, but it has not been decided yet. He said, let’s just calculate it, and if it looks good, why not,” Purbaya said to journalists at the Finance Ministry office in Jakarta on Friday.
In calculating the financial potential of transferring PNM to the Finance Ministry, the Finance Minister continues to coordinate with the Investment Management Agency (BPI) Danantara. To date, the calculation process remains ongoing.
However, Purbaya also left open the possibility of abandoning the initiative, given that the proposal remains merely an option.
The government, together with Danantara Indonesia, will make the best decision for the nation, he said.
“We have been calculating continuously with Rosan (CEO of Danantara Indonesia) about what the best step is for the nation, for the distribution of KUR (People’s Business Credit) and credit for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said.
The proposal was previously presented by Purbaya during a working meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Wednesday (4 February).
Purbaya wishes to bring under the Finance Ministry PNM, a subsidiary of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, or BRI.
His proposal takes into account the effectiveness of distributing People’s Business Credit to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as optimising interest subsidy support.
According to Purbaya, the Finance Ministry allocates up to Rp40 trillion annually to pay People’s Business Credit interest subsidies. If PNM comes directly under the Finance Ministry, he is confident that these funds could be managed to become more productive working capital.
Furthermore, he also believes that taking over PNM is the most efficient option.
This is because PNM is considered to already have adequate human resources for supporting micro customers.
Therefore, he believes this option is more advantageous compared to establishing a new special mission vehicle under the Finance Ministry.