We must be grateful for our success in 2021. However, we must not stop. The awards must encourage us to continue our great work in the following years in an effort to provide greater benefits for IndonesiaJakarta (ANTARA) - State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir has delivered various achievements in leading the ministry ahead in 2021.
During the course of 2021, Thohir succeeded in reinforcing various programs of the SOEs Ministry, ranging from financial performance to merging several SOEs companies into a big holding company.
In terms of the financial performance in 2021, the ministry managed to significantly increase the consolidated net profit of SOEs. Until the third quarter of 2021, the consolidated net profit had reached Rp61 trillion, from only Rp13 trillion at the end of 2020.
The consolidated net profit is expected to grow higher toward the end of the year. These financial results have been achieved through efficiency and changes in business models as well as appointing professionals as leaders in state-owned companies.
The decision to appoint professionals reflects Thohir's goals to apply the core values of Trustworthy, Competent, Harmonious, Loyal, Adaptive, and Collaborative (AKHLAK) as the main foundation in the principles of good corporate governance (GCG) in SOEs.
This year, through efficiency and professionalism, the SOEs Ministry succeeded in obtaining an Unqualified Opinion (WTP) on Financial Statements from the State Audit Board (BPK) for 14 consecutive years, gaining a status of 100-percent compliance in the submission of the State Official's Wealth Report (LHKPN).
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Under Thohir’s leadership, the ministry also clocked the highest score in its history for the civil servants apparatus (ASN) Merit System and ranked as the best Ministry and Government Institution. The ministry was awarded for the "very satisfactory" category for administrative neatness and garnered the KPPU Awards for supporting fair business competition.
"We must be grateful for our success in 2021. However, we must not stop. The awards must encourage us to continue our great work in the following years in an effort to provide greater benefits for Indonesia,” Thohir affirmed.
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Sharia Bank
Another monumental achievement that was successfully engineered by Thohir this year was his success in merging state-owned Islamic banks into an entity called Bank Syariah Indonesia, or BSI.
BSI was formed following the merger of three Sharia Banks owned by State-Owned Banks (Himbara): Mandiri Sharia, BRI Sharia, and BNI Sharia. With the formation of BSI, for the first time, Indonesia finally has a large Islamic bank, with assets totaling around Rp 247 trillion.
BSI has also emerged as the seventh-largest bank in Indonesia as well as ranked as the 11th Islamic bank in the world. This achievement has bolstered Indonesia's position, as a country with the largest number of Muslims in the world.
BSI also received official permission from the Government of the United Arab Emirates to open a branch in one of the Islamic finance centers, Dubai. The recognition brought BSI a step closer to achieving its goal of becoming a key player in the global Islamic banking industry.
The presence of BSI’s branch office in Dubai can mark its first track record in the global market where BSI will be the first bank from Indonesia to have a representative office in the Middle East region.
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BSI’s existence in Dubai can have two significant impacts, with the first being to contribute to the development of the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia.
The second positive outcome is the deepening of relations between Indonesia and Middle Eastern countries, especially the UAE. This is even more important since the UAE is one of the global investment centers, where Dubai is the center of global Islamic finance, including sukuk.
Big holding company
Apart from BSI, Thohir also managed to form two big holdings: Ultra Micro Holding and Pelindo Holding.
Ultra Micro Holdings was formed following the merger of BRI, Pegadaian, and PNM. This merger demonstrates the SOEs Ministry’s commitment to encouraging people’s empowerment and regional economies. By providing easy access to capital for the MSME and Ultra Micro sectors, Thohir is optimistic of strengthening the backbone of the Indonesian economy in order to compete globally.
The merger shows real efforts from SOEs to support the people's economic growth. The merger of the ultra micro sector received a positive response in the stock exchange. BRI's rights issue, conducted in September 2021, was successfully conducted with the acquisition of funds worth Rp96 trillion and was recognized as the largest rights issue in the ASEAN and the third-largest in Asia. This achievement demonstrates that the market is optimistic and believes in the transformation program implemented by the SOEs Ministry.
Meanwhile, in the logistics sector, Thohir continues to make breakthroughs to reduce logistics costs in Indonesia, which are still higher than those of the neighboring countries in Asia.
The Pelindo merger, which had been attempted for two decades, was successfully conducted in October 2021.
Four Pelindo entities -- Pelindo I, Pelindo II, Pelindo III, and Pelindo IV -- were merged into one company, with each of them becoming the port operators in different areas.
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With this merger, Pelindo currently emerges as the eighth-largest container terminal operator in the world, with a total of 16.7 million TEUs, and one of the main players in the ports sector, with assets totaling Rp 112 trillion. This merger also aims to boost connectivity and efficiency to lower the national logistics costs in an effort to further drive competitiveness of Indonesia’s industry sector.
President Joko Widodo also requested that the merged state-owned Pelindo start seeking partners for port companies, with extensive networks, in a bid to help Indonesian goods to penetrate the global supply chain.
Thohir’s feat, in the form of the success of the SOE Ministry's programs this year, is not only worthy of praise but also becomes the initial foundation to build and improve the Indonesian economy in future.
The public is certainly looking forward to several achievements from Thohir and his ministry in 2022, considering that several opportunities still exist to advance the Indonesian economy through SOEs.
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Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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