Pontjo seen as Garuda commissioner

Pontjo seen as Garuda commissioner

JAKARTA (JP): Pontjo Sutowo, the chairman of the Association
of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants, has been named as a
possible future commissioner for national flag carrier Garuda
Indonesia.

Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng
said on Thursday that Pontjo, also the owner of the Jakarta
Hilton International Hotel, was an appropriate figure to sit on
the airline's supervisory board.

"Since the tourist industry is closely related to the airline
industry, appointing him as a commissioner might be good for
Garuda," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on the
privatization of state enterprises.

Tanri said Garuda Indonesia, which is currently under severe
financial strain due to the monetary crisis and mounting foreign
exchange debts, was one of many state enterprises rampant with
collusion, nepotism and collusion.

"We have to remove all such practices to allow Garuda to
operate efficiently," he said.

Garuda Indonesia has an overseas debt of US$400 million. To
survive the crisis, the company is in the process of streamlining
its operations, which includes a plan to sell its $300 million
maintenance facility unit at Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport.

It has also managed to reschedule $285 million of its overseas
debts due to mature this year. (aly)