Entrepreneurs Ask For Accelerated Credit Restructuring

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Rosan Roeslani has asked the government to accelerate the implementation of stimulus to the real sector, especially credit restructuring in banks. This is because, according to Rosan, if it is not accelerated, the level of demand from the business world, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for restructuring, is estimated to reach Rp2,800 trillion by the end of the year.

Rosan said, currently, the level of restructuring requests from MSMEs is already at the level of Rp1,350 trillion. He explained that this figure is equivalent to 25 percent of the bank loan allocation, which currently reaches IDR 5,700 trillion. Meanwhile, Rp.695 trillion of the request has been approved.

"We convey that if there are no concrete steps and slow implementation, this figure will develop to a level of 40-45 percent of the current total bank lending. So it could more or less reach around Rp. 2,500-2,800 trillion by the end of this year," said Rosan, in a virtual press conference, Thursday, July 2.

According to Rosan, the high demand for this restructuring will disrupt banking performance. Although, OJK currently states that banks are not experiencing liquidity problems. However, this does not apply to non-commercial banks based on business activities (BUKU) 4.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) Hariyadi Sukamdani said the restructuring process in the field still had several obstacles. One of them is collecting funds from banks.

According to Hariyadi, this should be the government's attention, because it is not enough to help MSMEs and the business world. He explained, with conditions like this in the field, post-pandemic the business world will face even higher costs.

"Because from the start the costs have been set to be higher," he said.

In addition, Hadiyadi also proposed an extension of the credit restructuring period as regulated in OJK Regulation (POJK) Number 11 / POJK.03 / 2020 concerning Economic Stimulus as a Countercyclical Policy.

According to Hariyadi, some sectors may face difficulties if the restructuring is given within one year. Because, the time is considered insufficient.

"The POJK states that if needed, the POJK can be extended. Once a year is over, banks also have problems because they are affected by reserves and debtors have problems with collectability," he said.