Erick Thohir: Transformation Will Continue To Be Carried Out So That SOEs Can Become Global Players

Minister of SOEs, Erick Thohir. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of SOEs)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir said State Owned Enterprises (SOE) International Conference is one of the government's means of informing the international community about the impact of the transformation of SOEs for the Indonesian people. The event, which was held in Nusa Dua, Bali on Monday-Tuesday (17-18 October) and opened by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut B. Pandjaitan was also attended by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Nusa Dua, Badung Regency, Bali. On that occasion, the government also launched the Indonesia Water Fund (IWF) program as an effort to improve access to clean water for all Indonesian people. The launch of the IWF was carried out by Vice President Ma’ruf Amin online. The Vice President revealed that the existence of IWF as a platform to support the acceleration of investment in the provision of clean water connections to homes is expected to be an alternative solution for the Government through non-APBN funding. Erick expressed his gratitude to the Vice President, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, and the Ministry of Trade for supporting this grand event which is part of a series of Road to G20 activities in Trade, Investment and Industry Working Group (TIIWG). "This activity can also be the right moment to inform the international community regarding the efforts of the Ministry of SOEs to become more transparent as part of the commitment to public information disclosure," Erick said when submitting a report at the Opening Ceremony SOE International Conference. Since 2019, said Erick, the Ministry of SOEs has continued to carry out the transformation of SOEs as a whole. Erick said that the transformation of SOEs today only reached 80 percent and is targeted to be completed in the next one and a half years. "I am very grateful, our hard work for 3 years has resulted in sweet fruit, in which the performance of SOEs in 2021 shows a significant increase," he continued. Erick explained that the increase in BUMN revenue grew 18.8 percent in 2020-2021, to IDR 2,295 trillion. Even with an increase in consolidated profit which rose 838.2 percent from IDR 13 trillion in 2020 to IDR 124.7 trillion in 2021. The man who was born in Jakarta said that the total assets of BUMN on a consolidated basis at the end of 2021 were recorded at US$630 billion or around Rp8,978 trillion. This figure is equivalent to 53 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP). Not only that, he continued, young leadership and women have also shown positive progress. Last year, women's leadership in the board of directors had reached 15 percent of the 25 percent target and young leadership had also reached 5 out of the 10 percent target by 2023. "Of course we will continue to make this transformation so that SOEs can further make a maximum contribution to Indonesia and become global players," said Erick. According to Erick, the results of this transformation show that the efforts made so far are on the right track, and need to be continued so that SOEs can carry out their role as value creators and agents of development more optimally, and provide real benefits for the country and society. "For the first time also, during the current leadership period, the Ministry of SOEs issued a consolidated Financial Report which is the first step towards implementing better good corporate governance," continued Erick. The program immediately touched the community As an agent of development, Erick said, SOEs have encouraged programs that directly touch the community, such as distribution of ultra-micro financing and completion of National Strategic Projects that can absorb a lot of workforce. Furthermore, Erick also initiated the Indonesia Water Fund (IWF) program in order to accelerate the equitable access to clean water services for the community. Erick explained that the IWF program is a platform to support the acceleration of investment in the provision of clean water connections to homes, where clean water is still a challenge in various countries, including Indonesia. "Only 23 percent of Indonesians have access to clean water piping. Some other Indonesians are still facing the challenge of inequality in clean water prices with a price range of Rp. 65,000 to Rp. 140,000 per cubic meter," he said. Erick hopes that with the synergy between BUMN and strategic private and global partners, IWF is expected to be an alternative solution for the government in accelerating the expansion of access to clean water to the community through non-APBN funding. He is also committed to continuing to run programs that have a direct impact on improving the quality of life of the community. Erick emphasized that the role of SOEs as agents of development in society will go hand in hand with the transformation of SOEs. "We believe that if these two priorities work together, SOEs can further increase their role as the locomotive of Indonesian development. Of course we cannot run alone, therefore in this event we open the door as wide as possible to collaborate with the Government, Private Sector and also Global Strategic Partners to jointly build ecosystems in Indonesia," said Erick. This SOE International Conference raises topics that support the government's focus on the G20 in 2022, namely Digitalization, Energy Transition, Financial Inclusion, and Health Transformation. By involving international speakers, from practitioners, academics, consultants, government representatives, and multilateral institutions. A series of SOE International Conference activities that last for 2 days will be attended by more than 1,000 participants from the G20 countries such as the United States, Britain, India, Australia, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia as well as representatives of non-G20 countries such as Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the Netherlands, and other countries. The participants were leaders with various backgrounds including Ministries/Institutions, State-Owned Enterprises, DPRs, embassies of friendly countries, International Organizations, Academies, Researchers to domestic and international investors.