T

he State-Owned Enterprises ministry has asked for an additional Rp 3 trillion (US$207 million) in state capital injections (PMN) in 2016 to fund the operations of five more state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

In a meeting with the House of Representatives'€™ Commission VI overseeing industry and state-owned companies on Monday, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno appealed for total capital injections to rise to Rp 34 trillion in 2016.

The five companies that Rini mentioned on Monday were port operators PT Pelindo III, agriculture firms PT Sang Hyang Seri (SHS) and PT Pertani, trading company PT Perdagangan Perusahaan Indonesia (PPI) and construction firm PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA).

Rini explained that the extra cash for the five state companies was needed to protect and improve food security, stabilize food prices and speed up infrastructure projects, particularly those in Indonesia'€™s east.

'€œOne of the conclusions of the previous meeting held on Oct. 1 with Commission VI was that capital injections should only be made to step up infrastructure and energy projects, government micro loans (KUR) and food security.

Therefore, I propose new capital injections into the SOEs that are responsible for making that happen,'€ Rini said.

Pelindo III will receive a capital injection of Rp 1 trillion, while SHS and Pertani will receive Rp 250 billion each. WIKA will receive an additional Rp 1 trillion on top of its previous allocation of Rp 3 trillion and PPI will receive Rp 500 billion to add to its previously allocated Rp 500 billion.

The minister explained that WIKA'€™s additional Rp 1 trillion would be used to build a toll road from Balikpapan to Samarinda in East Kalimantan, which was not covered by the previous capital injection request, as well as to contribute to the funding of a 2x200 Megawatt power plant project in Aceh.

Meanwhile, PPI'€™s additional funds would be used to stabilize the price of sugar and increase exports, Rini said.

The State-Owned Enterprises ministry previously appealed for a total of Rp 31.32 trillion worth of state capital injections for 22 state companies to be allocated from the 2016 state budget, approval for which must be granted by the House of Representatives'€™ budgetary committee.

With the additional fund request, however, Rini said that the Rp 31.32 trillion allocated for capital injections from the state budget would not increase, as the added funds would involve reallocations from the total amount, as suggested and coordinated by the Finance Ministry.

Commission VI deputy chairman Heri Gunawan said that the commission supported the efforts to improve the performance of state companies that furthered national interests.

'€œThe commission supports the efforts to help SOEs to operate more efficiently. With greater cooperation between SOEs, they can cooperate ever more for the greater food,'€ the Gerindra Party lawmaker said.

Earlier in February, the government approved up to Rp 64.82 trillion in capital injections for 40 state companies using the 2015 budget, but some companies have yet to receive their share. Rini said she hoped that all injections would be distributed by the end of 2015.