Restructuring or bailout?

Restructuring or bailout?

When the government approved a plan of the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to restructure the debts of a number
of big private corporations, objections were immediately raised
by observers and others who maintained that the plan amounted to
a bailout and that, therefore, it caused the state to lose money.

A debate ensued after the Financial Sector Policy Committee
gave its approval to a plan to settle the problem of a number of
big debtors such as the Texmaco Group and Tirtamas Majutama
Group, whose aggregate outstanding debts amount to several
trillions of rupiah. The government had earlier bailed out
Chandra Asri, whose debts amount to some US$700 million...

The debate about whether the plan is or isn't a bailout could
last for a long time and consume a good deal of energy with each
side sticking to its own strong argument. In trying to settle the
problem of bad debts, however, the priority should go to any
plans involving the least possible risk to the state. Any measure
that simply puts the conglomerates' debt burden on the shoulders
of the state must be averted. Giving the impression that the
government is a lender of last resort must also be avoided.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta