Small business get bank credits of Rp 31t

Small business get bank credits of Rp 31t

JAKARTA (JP): Governor of Bank Indonesia J. Soedradjad
Djiwandono said here yesterday that credits extended by banks to
small businesses as of June reached Rp 31 trillion (US$14.3
billion) or 26 percent of their total credits.

John D. Conroy, the executive director of the Foundation for
Development Cooperation, meanwhile, said that Indonesia is the
most successful country in Asia in implementing the project of
Linking Banks and Self-Help Groups (PHBK).

Speaking to participants of a workshop on banking with the
poor, Soedradjad said that the credits extended to small
businesses had already exceeded the government-set target of 20
percent.

Soedradjad said that 43 percent of the credits extended to
small businesses went to borrowers with a credit ceiling of Rp 25
million in five million credit accounts, representing 95 percent
of the total accounts of credit facilities for small businesses.

He admitted that the public still considers it difficult for
small businesses to have access to banking credits, while large
firms have better access.

"The statistical figures actually show that small businesses
now have improved access to credit," he said.

He added that the extension of credits to small businesses
grew by an average of 20 percent per annum during the last five
years.

According to Soedradjad, 3,000 potential small scale projects
were identified as ineligible for credit facilities as of June.
Of those 3000 almost 1,500 have already received total loans of
Rp 500 billion from 72 banks.

Conroy said that the three day workshop, which is sponsored by
the central bank and the Foundation for Development Cooperation,
was trying to search for the best way to extend credits to small
businesses in Indonesia.

Soedradjad said the PHBK program has been successful in
increasing villager access to bank credit.(05)