Indonesia processes holding company for various business sectors

Indonesia is processing establishment of holding company for various business sectors to compete with neighboring countries' multi national enterprises (MNE), a minister said here on Thursday.

"Do we have potential to compete with neighboring countries' MNEs? We are processing establishment of holding company for sectors of plantation, fertilizer, mining and energy as well as financial and banking," the Minister for State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Sofyan Djalil in his statement told a seminar.

He said that the government is trying to pioneer an investment agency like Malaysia's Khazanah.

"One of our efforts is synergizing SOEs that have related business through merger and acquisition," he said.

However, said the minister, if the output put them in a dominant position, according to the European Commission for MergerControl Regulation, it would violate laws, he asked business players and authorities to discuss its benefit and loss.

"Let's discuss the criteria and how we manage it so it has a positive affectivity power as well as to define our competitors," said Sofyan.

In addition to competition in the international level, SOEs have to be pioneers to roll the nation's economic wheel.

"All roles could be done by SOEs. However, we need a consolidation, unify our steps, understanding and words between bureaucracy, policy makers, law enforcers and business players," he said.

Indonesia has many SOEs but at least 15 of them are big enough to compete in the international level, namely PT Telkom (telecommunication), Pertamina (oil and gas), Perusahaan Listrik Negara (power), Aneka Tambang (mining) and Garuda Indonesia (airline), among others.

Source:Xinhua