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Government to delay dividend collection from SOEs as pandemic hits businesses
The government expects this year’s dividend collection from SOEs to reach Rp 43.8 trillion, revised down from Rp 49 trillion eyed initially.
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The State-Owned Enterprises Ministry office in Jakarta is pictured on June 12, 2019. The government is finalizing a plan to delay dividend collection from state-owned enterprises (SOEs), among other measures, to rescue businesses severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he government is finalizing a plan to delay dividend collection from state-owned enterprises (SOEs), among other measures, to rescue businesses severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, a top official has said.
The Finance Ministry’s fiscal policy agency (BKF) head Febrio Kacaribu said the government would lend a hand to SOEs through various measures, adding that the government would finalize the measures in a Cabinet meeting.
“The government will support [the SOEs] by delaying dividend collection, injecting state capital, providing compensation payments and working capital investment, among other things,” Febrio told reporters during a streamed news conference on Wednesday. “Other forms of support include bill repayment, covering payments for national strategic projects and providing loan guarantees.”
The government expects this year’s dividend collection from SOEs to reach Rp 43.8 trillion, revised down from Rp 49 trillion eyed initially, as the COVID-19 pandemic is projected to hit business activity. As of March, state-owned banks had paid almost Rp 24 trillion in dividends to the government, according to Finance Ministry data.
Read also: Government issues regulation on economic recovery program, focuses on SOEs, MSMEs
The SOEs rescue plan is part of the government's national economic recovery program worth around Rp 318 trillion (US$21.28 billion), according to a Finance Ministry document presented in a meeting with lawmakers recently, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post. More than Rp 152 trillion of the funds has been allocated to the SOEs rescue plan.
However, Febrio said the government would not provide the support for all SOEs but only to those with financial and supply-demand problems caused by the pandemic.
“We should be careful as the government will not help all of the ailing SOEs,” he said.
The eligible SOEs, Febrio added, should play a strategic role for the public, have a special assignment from the government or have significant exposure to the country’s financial system.
Read also: State-owned enterprises scramble to repay debts in time
The presentation material revealed that national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia would receive a government investment for working capital worth Rp 8.5 trillion, steelmaker PT Krakatau Steel will get Rp 3 trillion and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Rp 13 trillion.
Around Rp 25 trillion will be channeled through state capital injection for SOEs such as electricity company PLN and construction company PT Hutama Karya as well as Rp 94.23 trillion in the form of accelerated compensation payments to PLN and energy giant Pertamina.
Febrio declined to provide details or confirm how much money the government would disburse to the said SOEs, saying the policy would need first to be approved by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in a Cabinet meeting.
