SOE Dividends Soared Considered Positive, But Economists Remember This

JAKARTA - Executive Director of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE), Mohammad Faisal, spoke about Non-Tax State Revenue Types of State Assets Separated (PNBP KND) from the dividend deposit of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) which reached IDR 81.5 trillion as of December 12, 2023.

According to him, this achievement is positive because state-owned companies mean they have cleaned up.

"This achievement, if we look at the performance of corporations and state revenues, is certainly good, the bigger the better," said Faisal in Jakarta, Saturday, December 16, 2023.

Faisal assessed that the achievement of this SOE was not an easy thing. Unlike corporations, state companies are not just seeking profit or profit.

BUMN, continued Faisal, must also be a driving force for the Indonesian economy.

"In addition to high dividends, what needs to be considered is in terms of their role in development," said the economist.

Even so, in carrying out its duties, the Government must provide support for SOEs. One way is by adjusting the target to the financial condition of each company.

This step must be taken because SOEs will face major challenges in the coming year.

"So, it's not only the high dividend target, but to what extent can they carry out the role of development, of course by maintaining their financial burden situation," said Faisal.

As previously reported, SOE Minister Erick Thohir said that the transformation of state-owned companies has had a major impact on the state and society.

"Alhamdulillah, the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati was also happy because the dividend of SOEs until October 2023 had reached Rp74.1 trillion," said Erick in November 2023.

Erick conveyed that the realization of dividends or non-tax state revenues (PNBP) from separated state assets (KND) is 150 percent higher than the initial target.

This is concrete evidence of SOE changes that have a positive impact on the company's performance.

The largest contribution is said to come from SOEs engaged in the banking and energy sectors. Meanwhile, Erick asked other sectors to continue to increase.

"From the start, I have always emphasized that SOEs must be the bulwark of Indonesia's economy. The increase in contribution also illustrates the condition of SOEs which continues to improve," he concluded.