Kadin tell government to sell SOE subsidiaries

BUMN - JAKARTA. Indonesia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has advised the government to sell many subsidiaries of state-owned enterprises (SOE), especially those that do not have relations with the core businesses of their parent companies.

The profits from the sales can be used by the government to finance infrastructure projects, said Kadin chairman Rosan Perkasa Roeslani after meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo at the State Palace on Thursday.

"SOEs should be returned to their principal function as agents of development. They should act as pioneers to develop in areas that private sectors cannot enter," he said.

He also said many SOE subsidiaries had businesses that were supposed to be managed by private companies.

SOE Minister Rini Soemarno welcomed the suggestion, Rosan claimed, adding that she planned to reduce the number of SOEs and their subsidiaries to around 200 from the current 800 through mergers, initial public offerings or private offerings to the private sector.

"We told the President that the private sector was ready to purchase the companies. Those SOE subsidiaries are long-existing companies, not green field companies, they have transparent financial reports," he said.

With a cooperation between the government and private parties, infrastructure development could be finished faster, he added.