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More state-owned firms to go public this year: Jokowi
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo greets Gondangrejo residents in Karanganyar, Central Java on July, 7. (The Jakarta Post/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
T
he government is preparing several state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to go public this year, to raise funds for expansion and, at the same time, give investors an opportunity to become shareholders.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said the SOE stakeholders must change their old paradigms that position state-owned firms as “ATMs” for the state, or to exclusively support their sole business corporation.
“It has been our old custom to increase SOE profits and generate cash for its own sake. The spirit should be to maximize the SOEs' capital for expansion and to give wider opportunities for the people to become shareholders,” he said in a gathering with editors in Jakarta on Thursday.
The President pointed to Jasa Marga, which has effectively expanded its toll road network by using initial public offering (IPO) proceeds.
However he declined to elaborate more on the SOEs currently prepared for the corporate action, saying that he was waiting for the assessment to be concluded before announcing the candidates for IPO.
According to the government’s figures, SOE total assets amounted to Rp 440 trillion (US$33.7 billion), which could be maximized by listing on the stock market. “We believe the IPOs can be effectively staged this year,” he said. (ags)
