The Ministry Of BUMN Affirms That The IDR 8.5 Trillion Bailout Fund For Garuda Indonesia Does Not Come From The State Budget

JAKARTA - The Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) has clarified the issue of the government disbursing bailout funds to deal with the COVID-19 incident to PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. These funds do not come from the national revenue and expenditure budget (APBN).

Special Staff to the Minister of BUMN Arya Sinulingga emphasized that the government in this case is only the guarantor, not the bailout provider. He emphasized that the company must seek funding.

"The government is only the guarantor. Funds are obtained from Garuda Indonesia. Where? Can they come from anywhere, can be from banks, capital, and so on. But it is not APBN funds. It needs to be clarified, that the bailout fund is not the APBN," said Arya, in video conference with journalists, Tuesday, June 2.

Arya said that the government did not spend a penny to provide a bailout of IDR 8.5 trillion to Garuda Indonesia. This is because State Capital Participation (PMN) from the government is intended only for BUMN companies whose shares are 100 percent owned by the government.

The bailout funds are reported to be used by Garuda Indonesia to pay global sukuk debt with an issuance value of 496.84 million United States (US) dollars due on June 3.

"Garuda Indonesia is 60 percent owned by the government. The rest is owned by the private sector and so on. That means that government funds are not allowed to go to Garuda Indonesia. So if it is said that government funds are used to pay debts, it is not true because they cannot enter," he said.

Arya said that even though it is not a funder, the government can guarantee Garuda Indonesia to seek loans. He said that when the bailout funds were disbursed, it was very dependent on Garuda Indonesia in seeking loans.

Furthermore, Arya emphasized that the nominal value of this bailout was not determined by the government but by the company, in this case Garuda Indonesia.

"His name is also not government funds, what funds are used for it (the company's) business. But they have their own calculation of what funds are used. So, government funds are not used by them. They borrow the funds themselves," he explained.

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfaniaputra, denied that the bailout assistance will be used to pay debts. As is known, the state-owned airline has global sukuk debt with an issuance value of 496.84 million US dollars due on June 3.

"No. That's suudzon," said Irfan, when contacted by VOI.

Irfan said that until now Garuda Indonesia was still in discussion with the government regarding the allocation of the trillions of bailout funds.

"It's still being discussed with the government," he explained.