Purbaya's Bold Moves: Establishing an SME Bank to Taking Over Whoosh

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is making several bold moves amid global turbulence impacting the state budget.

From establishing a dedicated SME bank to plans for taking over the management of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail project (Whoosh).

According to him, these policies are part of the government’s efforts to strengthen financing for small businesses while tidying up the financial structure of major infrastructure projects.

The first step prepared by Purbaya is the establishment of a bank focused on distributing People’s Business Credit (KUR) to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.

This plan is related to the proposal to take over PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) from PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). PNM will then be transformed into a Public Service Agency (BLU) under the Ministry of Finance.

Purbaya emphasised that this transformation is aimed at enabling PNM not only to provide ultra-micro financing but also to become the primary distributor of KUR.

“So PNM will become a bank, perhaps under SMI or PIP, under us it will distribute KUR,” he said during a working meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), at the Parliament Building, Jakarta, on Monday (6/4/2026).

He stated that this scheme would allow PNM to develop into a broader financing institution, even potentially becoming a bank under entities such as PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) or the Government Investment Centre (PIP).

According to him, the plan to establish the SME bank has been reported to President Prabowo Subianto and has received initial approval.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance is still conducting further discussions with Danantara Indonesia and seeking support from the DPR so that this policy can be quickly realised.

In addition to focusing on the SME sector, Purbaya also highlighted the resolution of financing issues for the Whoosh high-speed rail project managed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC).

He revealed that the government plans to take over the company as part of restructuring steps.

Purbaya stated that the takeover process is essentially complete and now only awaits the formality stage.

He added that the new management scheme has already been agreed upon, but cannot yet be announced because it involves various parties.