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Government to set up team to privatize Merpati
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A Merpati Nusantara Airlines plane. (kompas.com/Erwin Edhi Prasetyo)
T
he government has announced its plan to establish a team that will be tasked with preparing for the privatization of state-owned airline PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, following a decision made by the Surabaya Commercial Court that ordered airline creditors to come to a solution.
“Yes, in the near future, we will set up a Merpati privatization team,” State-Owned Enterprises Ministry business restructuration and development undersecretary Aloysius K. Ro said as reported by kontan.co.id on Monday.
The Surabaya Commercial Court decided earlier this month to let Merpati seek a solution with its creditors. The court's panel of judges also noted there were new investors, with the airline recording Rp 10.95 trillion (US$720.73 million) in total debt.
Previously, Merpati management assured that there was an investor who was ready to invest Rp 6 trillion so that the airline, which had not operated for about two years, could fly again.
Currently, the government has 96.99 percent of Merpati shares, while the remaining shares are owned by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.
Aloysius said the team would be tasked with selling the shares owned by the government to the new investors.
However, he could not confirm whether the government would sell 100 percent of its shares as the decision would be made by the coordinating economic minister. “We have not talked about the shares and how the new structure will look,” he added.
Previously, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said: “Anyone who wants to enter Merpati should not only take the name, but also expertise, technology and money.”
