Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

State Enterprise Minister, Rini M. Soemarno, has targeted that by the end of 2019, no state enterprises would suffer from a loss. By end of 2017, she said, there were just 13 of 24 enterprises that suffered from a loss whilst profits increased by 30 percent from Rp148 trillion in 2014 to Rp183 trillion. “The asset was formerly 4,500 trillion at end of 2017, becoming 7,000 trillion,” Minister Rini said in Executive Series public lecture themed Nurturing and Managing Leader to students of Master Management of UGM on Thursday (12/4).

The Minister said it was not easy to make state enterprises not suffering from losses. She explained that she had aligned the vision and views of directors of the enterprises, encouraging them to run the business transparently and accountably whilst giving services to society.

“The challenge was on how to bring together those state enterprises, because they had run on themselves previously,” she said.

According to Minister Rini, she asked the directors to have the idea that state enterprises were state assets. She wanted them to make the enterprises as agent of state development so that they need to be run well. She further asked the directors to go to the field and travelled by economic class in order that they knew the hardships faced by the grassroot people. Despite protests, she said, they finally understood this, because she also did it herself.

She told the students that she had been asked by the President to involve the state enterprises and play their roles in infrastructure development. “The challenge given by the President was to build toll roads, electricity 35,000 MW, and seaports and airports,” she said.

At the end of 2014, she said, Indonesia had just 46,000 MW electric plants with length of transmission 40,000 km while electrification rate 28 percent. “Toward end of 2019, we target to electrify up to 98 percent and electricity for industry. In five years, we will build 35,000 MW more, and transmission 46,000 km more,” she explained.

Despite the hard challenge from the President, she said that the target could be reached by involving state enterprises. “By the end of 2018, Merak - Probolinggo tollr oads and Bakaheuni- Palembang toll roads will be completed,” she added.

Management expert from UGM, Dr. T. Hani Handoko, moderator of the lecture, said Minister Rini was a state official who had business strategy, which was not apart from her previous position as President Director of Astra Indonesia, to which she responded that she was the type of person that liked to act instead of just talk.

Source: Marwati/UGM