STATE FIRMS' DIVIDEND PAYMENTS UP 300 PCT

Jakarta, July 24 (ANTARA) - State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil said state companies' dividend payments to the state over the past five years rose by up to 300 percent.

"The improved performance of Garuda is one of the examples of the state firms' positive development," he said when dedicating a new Garuda Indonesia building in the Soekarno-Hatta airport compound here on Thursday.

The minister said state firms' net profit went up 77 percent to Rp78 trillion in 2008 from Rp44 trillion in 2004.

Overall, state firms' assets increased 38 percent to approximately Rp2000 trillion now, he said.

He attributed the achievement to the significant improvement of state firms' operations as a result of the application of good procurement system and procedure through e-procurement system, among others.

The other factors were the application of good remuneration mechanism and the formulation of management contract through tighter and measurable key performance indicator, he said.

Of equal importance were direct synergy and cooperation without involving third party and efficient healthcare spending, he said.

"These all have led to better corporate culture to create added value of state firms," he said.

He further illustrated how state electricity firm PT PLN managed to save hundreds of millions of US dollars by renegotiating a project last year.

"State banks also become the best banks. For instance, BRI has become the best bank in three consecutive years," he said.

He said state firms' capital expenditures which stood at Rp128 trillion last year were projected to increase to Rp152 trillion this year.

In fact, the figure was only Rp32 trillion in 2004, he said