Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Erick Thohir, on Friday lauded a World Bank report recognizing the important role played by SOEs in the economies of developing countries.
"The World Bank report states that the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the urgency of SOEs reform. Over the past two decades, BUMN has become one of the largest and fastest-growing multinational companies," said Thohir in a written statement.
The World Bank said that SOEs have appeared at the forefront as accelerators, helping the economy of the community and country during the pandemic, the minister added.
The record is in line with the SOEs’ transformation agenda, Thohir said. The pandemic is a momentum for SOEs to accelerate their transformation. The pandemic has pushed business model changes and faster digitization, he added.
"SOEs must also be adaptive and change, both from business transformation and also human capital. If it doesn't change, (the SOEs) will definitely be left behind,” the minister said.
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Based on IMF (International Monetary Fund) data, the position of SOEs has become increasingly important in the map of companies globally in the past 10 years. SOEs constitute a third of Indonesia’s economic power.
Therefore, Thohir has continued to encourage SOEs to improve their performance so that they can make a major contribution to job creation and economic growth.
The SOEs Minister said that efforts to change SOEs have been realized through a number of business transformation programs and human capital.
The transformation has produced positive results, with an increase in the consolidated net profit of SOEs, he noted.
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SOEs have also contributed to the Indonesian stock market, with 10 state-owned companies reaching a total valuation of up to Rp1,907 trillion.
"Alhamdulillah, the SOE's net profit was only Rp13 trillion in 2020. However, through a professional and transparent transformation, now the SOEs’ net profit has reached Rp90 trillion in 2021. This is certainly an extraordinary achievement and must continue to be improved, "said Thohir.
The positive performance of SOEs would have a good impact on countries that are in need of additional funds apart from taxes, the minister added.
Thohir said that SOEs, on a consolidated basis, had contributed Rp377 trillion to the state in 2020, in the form of taxes, dividends, and also non-tax state revenues (PNBP).
The contribution of SOEs to the state will be used by the government for accelerating poverty alleviation as well as programs for the benefit of the people, he added.
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Citing an example, the minister said that one of the government programs carried out by the State Electricity Company (PLN) is free electrical stimulation for household, industrial, and small business customers with a power of 450 VA.
"Since the beginning, we have emphasized the need for transformation in SOEs so that SOEs have a truly professional and transparent management system," said the minister.
Speaking on the handling of the pandemic, the SOEs Minister said he is also grateful for the hard work of the government and SOEs in overcoming many problems.
Currently, appreciation is being given by the World Bank, which has seen the big role of SOEs in handling the pandemic, such as the provision of free electricity by PLN to help the people's economic difficulties.
The World Bank has also underlined the role of SOEs, both directly and indirectly, in the fight against COVID-19 in the form of the production of ventilators, masks, and even vaccines.
"Alhamdulillah, in the early days of the pandemic, many people doubted Indonesia. But, now we are judged as one of the best," Minister Thohir remarked.
The success in the handling of the pandemic is thanks to the strong social capital in Indonesia, he said. From the start, the minister has asked SOEs to focus and work together to help the government and the community in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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