Loan and interest payments above budget

Loan and interest payments above budget

JAKARTA (JP): Loan and interest payments during the current
fiscal year ending in March are estimated to reach Rp 21.43
trillion (US$9.37 billion) or 17.7 percent more than the budgeted
total of Rp 18.21 trillion, Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad
said yesterday.

Mar'ie told the House of Representatives that the unexpectedly
high payments were due to a faster realization of domestic and
foreign loan repayments.

The repayment of domestic debts is estimated to reach Rp 1.78
trillion, compared to the budgeted amount of only Rp 318.8
billion, due to the reimbursement of Rp 1.5 trillion in net
profits from domestic oil fuel sales which were overpaid to the
government by the state-owned Pertamina oil company in fiscal
1993-1994.

"The higher debt repayments and service burdens were also
caused by the early payment of high-interest foreign loans from
international organizations," he said.

He noted that such early payment was made possible by the
floating of the state-owned telecommunication company PT Telkom
and the state owned tin company PT Timah on foreign stock
exchanges.

According to the minister, the early payment of high-interest
loans is part of the government's effort to decrease its
financial burdens and to improve the country's balance of
payments.

He noted that during the current fiscal year, other routine
expenditures are estimated to reach Rp 2.12 trillion or three
times as large as the budgeted amount.

The increase was generated by the reclassification of
expenditures for the pre-shipment inspection service from
development to routine expenditures.

Previously, payments for the pre-shipment inspection were
accounted for in the development expenditures.

Mar'ie added that the current state budget which was
originally envisaged to balance at Rp 78.02 trillion (US$34.06
billion) is estimated to increase, bringing state revenues up to
Rp 82.72 trillion and spendings to Rp 82.35 trillion.

"That means the current budget will end in March with a
surplus of Rp 375.3 billion," he said when he briefed the House
on the preliminary estimates on the realization of the budget.

Mar'ie said that domestic revenues will account for Rp 71.55
trillion of the Rp 82.72 trillion total revenues or eight percent
more than estimated in the budget.

He said the increase was due to unexpectedly high tax
receipts.

Mar'ie said that revenues from oil and gas are estimated to
reach Rp 14.84 trillion, or 11.8 percent more than the budget
estimate, as the average price of Indonesian oil on the
international market hit $17.3 per barrel, or 80 U.S. cents more
than originally estimated.

Meanwhile, tax receipts from the non-oil and gas sectors are
expected to reach Rp 56.71 trillion, or 7 percent more than
estimated.

In the current fiscal year, tax revenues -- which consist of
income tax, value-added tax, property tax, import duty, custom
and excise and export taxes -- are estimated at Rp 48.42
trillion, which is 7.5 percent more than the budget target.

Non-tax revenues -- consisting of various service fees,
dividends from state companies and profits from domestic oil fuel
sales -- are estimated to reach Rp 7.8 trillion or 20.2 percent
more than the budget target.

As a result of higher oil prices on the international market
in the current fiscal year, net earnings from oil are expected to
reach Rp 487.6 billion, or 33.1 percent less than estimated.

Mar'ie said receipts from foreign loans are expected to reach
Rp 11.17 trillion or 5 percent less than the budget target.

Meanwhile, actual expenditures for fiscal 1995/96, which
consist of routine expenditures and development spendings, are
estimated at Rp 82.35 trillion.

Routine expenditures are estimated to run at Rp 52.54
trillion, or 11.2 percent more than expected, and development
expenditures (investment) at Rp 29.81 trillion, or 3.2 percent
less. (13/pwn)