Finance Minister Reports Plan to Take Over PNM to President
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has stated that he has reported his plan to take over PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (Persero) or PNM to President Prabowo Subianto.
“I have already reported it to the President as well, but no decision has been made yet. He told me to go ahead and calculate it - if it looks good, why not,” Purbaya told journalists at the Ministry of Finance office in Jakarta on Friday.
In calculating the financial potential of transferring PNM to the Ministry of Finance, the finance minister is continuing to coordinate with Danantara Indonesia’s Investment Management Agency (BPI). The calculation process is still ongoing.
However, Purbaya has also left room for the proposal to be abandoned, given that it remains merely an option.
The government, together with Danantara Indonesia, will make the best decision for the nation, he said.
“We are continuing to calculate with Rosan (CEO of Danantara Indonesia) what the best course of action is for the nation, for the distribution of People’s Business Credit (KUR), and credit to micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM),” he said.
The proposal was previously presented by Purbaya during a working session with Commission XI of the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Wednesday (4 February).
Purbaya wishes to bring PNM, a subsidiary of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or BRI, under the Ministry of Finance’s direct control.
His proposal takes into account the effectiveness of KUR distribution to UMKM and the optimisation of interest subsidies.
According to Purbaya, the Ministry of Finance disburses a budget of up to 40 trillion rupiah annually to pay for KUR interest subsidies. If PNM were directly under his ministry, he is confident that these funds could be managed into more productive working capital.
He also believes that taking over PNM is the most efficient option, as PNM is considered to have adequate human resources for advising micro-enterprise customers.
Therefore, he argues, this option is more advantageous than creating a new special mission vehicle (SMV) under the Ministry of Finance.