ID :
142920
Tue, 09/21/2010 - 09:22
Auther :

PRIVATIZATION MUST NOT WEAKEN NATIONAL ECONOMY, LAWMAKER WARNS

Jakarta, Sept 20 (ANTARA) - The resilience of the national economy must not be weakened by the privatization of state-owned enterprises and dependence on foreign sources, says a member of the House of Representatives.

"We at the House of Representatives hoped that privatization would prioritize investment," the House Commission III member Bambang Soesatyo said Monday in response to the question on how the House views the drive for privatization prepared by the Ministry of State Enterprises.

Soesatyo, of Golkar Party and member of the House's Budget Committee, added that the plan for the privatization needs to be scrutinized closely as it is part of the IMF's Structure Adjustment Program for Indonesia which had been rejected by many people.

Soesatyo said that in 2010 the government planned to privatize ten SOEs, including three plantation companies and two major banks. He warned the government against privatizing strategic companies such as plantations and the banking business.

SOE Minister Mustafa Abubakar has confirmed that some state owned enterprises were ready to release their shares to the public, including steel-maker PT Krakatau Steel, national flag-carrier PT Garuda Indonesia, Bank Mandiri, and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).

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