Minister installs 64 new commissioners

Minister installs 64 new commissioners

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah
yesterday installed six new advisers at his ministry and 64 new
state-owned plantation firm commissioners.

The newly installed executives consist of 14 chief
commissioners and 50 commissioners for the 14 plantation
companies under the agriculture ministry.

"I hope that the new commissioners will cooperate with the
managements to boost the performance of the companies,"
Sjarifudin said in his inaugural speech.

Yesterday's appointments were a follow-up to the restructuring
of state-owned plantation firms, which was completed last month.

Under its restructuring program, the government merged 26 PTP
Nusantara plantation firms into 14 entities last month.

PTP Nusantara I-VII are based in Sumatra, PTP Nusantara VIII-
XII in Java, PTP Nusantara XIII in Kalimantan and PTP Nusantara
XIV in Sulawesi. Each company has a paid-up capital of between Rp
300 billion (US$128 million) and Rp 1.7 trillion.

The minister installed the new boards of directors of the 14
firms on April 9.

The new advisers appointed yesterday include Soedjarwo for
regional agricultural development, Farid A. Bahari for
agricultural conservation, Suherman Muljodihardjo for manpower
and farm mechanization, Nelson P. Hutabarat for economic and
trade cooperation and commodities, Djunaedi Tossin for food crop
diversification and Achmad Saubari Prasono for institutional
relations.

Director General of State-owned Companies Bacelius Ruru was
appointed as chief commissioner of PTP Nusantara IV.

Sjarifudin urged the plantation companies to improve their
performances to face global competition.

Sjarifudin, however, declined to elaborate on the plan to
privatize several plantation companies.

"I prefer not to make further comments because any statement I
make will be considered as my promise," he contended.

Ruru also declined to comment.

"I would say that the planned initial public offerings by
several plantation companies are still under preparation," he
said. (08)