Habibie to unveil plans to develop state firms
Habibie to unveil plans to develop state firms
JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie is set to announce on
Wednesday new basic plans for the development of state
enterprises, including a plan to raise the salaries and benefits
of company management, ahead of the June general election.
State Minister for the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri
Abeng said on Tuesday that the plans were designed to boost the
performance and value of state companies to reach international
standards.
"The remuneration system is a very important part of the
management system to boost the performance of state enterprises
to be comparable to that of world-class operators," he told
reporters after opening a seminar on state enterprises and the
privatization program.
Tanri said further details would be provided after the plans
are announced.
Sofyan Djalil, a deputy at the ministry, said the current
salary system in state enterprises is not realistic for
encouraging management to boost operations to world standards.
He mentioned as an example the CEO at state electricity firm
PLN. He receives a monthly salary of Rp 10 million (about
US$1,175) but is responsible for managing several billion dollars
in assets and nearly 60,000 employees.
"We are currently designing a competitive renumeration and
incentives system," Sofyan said, adding that the ministry had
appointed a team of independent consultants for the task.
Toga Sitompul, president of state-owned Surveyor Indonesia,
welcomed the proposal, saying it would raise the professionalism
and ability of the management of state enterprises to an
international level.
He said that under the new basic plans, the government would
also introduce an institute for the development of corporate
leaders.
"The professional standards at our state enterprises is far
lower than the international average," said Toga, who will also
be one of the executives of the institute.
Widigdo Sukarman, president of state Bank BNI, said efforts to
raise the performance and value of state enterprises are
important if the government's privatization program is to be
successful.
He said "preparations" had to be made immediately so that
state companies would be ready for privatization once the capital
market regained stability.
The government is planning to privatize 14 companies in the
1999/2000 fiscal year in a bid to raise US$1.5 billion in cash.
The privatization candidates for the next couple of years have
also been disclosed in the privatization blueprint.
Sofyan said that mining companies PT Tambang Timah and PT
Aneka Tambang, plantation firm PT Perkebunan IV, and Soekarno
Hatta international airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II were in
the process of being privatized in the current fiscal year. (rei)