Kadin and Golkar to form guarantee fund next year
Kadin and Golkar to form guarantee fund next year
JAKARTA (JP): After a long debate, the Indonesian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (Kadin) together with the ruling Golkar
party eventually decided to establish a guarantee fund early next
year to spur the growth of small businesses, an executive says.
Kadin Chairman Aburizal Bakrie told newsmen yesterday that the
establishment of the guarantee fund, a kind of credit insurance
firm, has endorsement from President Soeharto.
"In his address at the opening of the 21st International Small
Business Congress here last week, Soeharto supported the idea of
establishing a guarantee fund," Aburizal said at a press
conference after attending the meeting with Kadin's board of
executives yesterday.
Aburizal said within the next three months, a special team set
up by Kadin and Golkar will working out the technical aspects of
establishing the guarantee fund. "Then for sure we will make it
come true by the end of this year," he said.
The idea of creating a guarantee fund has sparked debates
among economists and policy makers since it was put forward for
the first time by entrepreneurs in the Golkar party last May.
Kadin and Governor of Bank Indonesia J. Soedrajad Djiwandono
are among those who support it. They said such a guarantee fund
is necessary as small businessmen often cannot fulfill
administrative requirements to get credit from a bank.
Opposition
Those opposing it are, among others, Minister of Cooperatives
and Small Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya, Director of the
Indonesian Business Data Center Christianto Wibisono and
economist Kwik Kian Gie.
Subiakto disagreed with a new guarantee fund because there
have been similar institutions, such as the state-owned
Indonesian Credit Insurer (Askrindo) and Perum PKK, another
state-owned company for the development of cooperatives. He said
it is better to maximize the existing institutions rather than
establishing a new guarantee fund.
Cristianto and Kwik are more skeptical. They said it will only
benefit the ruling party, particularly if the source of the
proposed guarantee fund is obtained from state firms' profits.
Aburizal, however, argued that the source of the guarantee
fund will not be taken from the state firms' profits, but from
the public.
"Whoever wants to take part, just please do... Also state-
owned companies, if they want to take part, they may become the
fund's shareholders," Aburizal assured.
He said the planned guarantee fund is more than just a credit
insurance firm as it will not merely make loans easier for small
enterprises but also teach them how to manage their firms more
professionally. (rid)