Govt to focus on selling shares of listed SOEs

Govt to focus on selling shares of listed SOEs

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will focus on the sale of its remaining shares
in publicly listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) next year to
help prop up the state budget deficit amid political uncertainty
resulting from the elections, a senior official said.

Mahmuddin Yasin, deputy for privatization at the Office of
State Minister of State Enterprises, said the government would
prefer to sell its remaining shares in several SOEs to the public
rather than privatizing non-listed SOEs next year.

He explained that the government planned to sell another 10
percent stake in Bank Mandiri, 15 percent in coal producer PT
Batubara Bukit Asam, 14 percent in tin producer PT Timah, 14
percent in nickel and gold producer PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), and
up to 30 percent in Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).

The government still has an 80 percent stake in Bank Mandiri,
99 percent in BNI, 65 percent in Antam and Timah as well as 83.74
in Bukit Asam.

For next year, the government has set a target of Rp 5
trillion (US$588 million) from the sale of assets in SOEs in
order to help plug the state budget deficit which is estimated to
reach Rp 24.4 trillion.

Mahmuddin said that the government would wait for an
appropriate time next year to launch new privatization, because
investors would likely wait until the end of the election season
to see if it goes smoothly before putting more money into any
projects, fearing political unrest and instability.

During the election, voters will choose legislators on April
5, the first round of the direct presidential election will be on
July 5, with the second round on Sept. 20.

Mahmuddin said that the government would try to re-launch the
privatization program for several companies next year. It had
planned, but failed, to do it in recent years. The firms include
airline company PT Merpati Airlines, finance company PT Danareksa
Persero and airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I.

He also said that the government would also prepare to sell
off other SOEs such as construction company PT Adhi Karya and
plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara I via initial public
offerings next year.

However, all the privatization efforts will be largely
dependent on the country's political stability next year.