The State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry has emphasized that a capital injection into state-owned PT Asuransi Jiwasraya would be a last resort in the government's efforts to rescue the ailing insurance company.

 The ministry and House of Representatives were discussing several other scenarios to save the insurer from bankruptcy and help it pay its policyholders’ claims, Arya Sinulingga, an aide to SOE Minister Erick Thohir, said on Tuesday.

 “The ministry is still devising a plan to save Jiwasraya with a comprehensive plan to improve its fundamentals,” he said in a statement.

 He also underlined that talks of a state capital injection were meant to help state-owned insurers in general and not just Jiwasraya, as the ministry aimed to improve the country’s insurance industry's health in the long run.

 “We also have to make sure that Jiwasraya’s case does not happen again.”

 Jiwasraya failed to pay matured policies worth Rp 16 trillion (US$1.17 billion) as of January as a result of alleged investment mismanagement. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has opened an investigation into the insurer, named a suspect and detained five individuals in the case, including former Jiwasraya executives and two businesspeople.

 Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati conceded on Wednesday that several options were still being considered.

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