It is the directive of the President that we, the Investment Ministry, are not allowed to only take care of large investments.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) actors in Papua to use their business identification numbers (NIBs) to access people's business credit (KUR) and strengthen their business capital.

He made the remarks at an event held to disburse NIBs to 2,700 individual small and micro enterprises (SMEs) at Toware Sports Hall, Jayapura district, Papua province, on Wednesday.

Papua has become the first province outside Java region to provide NIBs to MSME players.

"What is the use of the NIB? You can become formal entrepreneurs because you already have a permit called a business identification number. Thus, what is it for? Ladies and gentlemen, you can (use it to) access capital from the bank. Ask for KUR -- people's business credit," Widodo said.

Currently, the KUR interest rate is subsidized by the government, with the customers only charged 3 percent interest, he added.

Still, he appealed to MSME actors to be careful when applying for a bank loan, saying they must consider their ability to repay the loan to avoid legal risks, which could hurt their business.

"If it is out of the calculation, you do not need to borrow (the fund). (However) if it is still profitable (and you) can pay it in installments, you can borrow it,” he emphasized.

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Furthermore, he asked MSME players to not use loans for consumptive purposes, such as to buy vehicles or other tertiary needs.

In addition, he asked financial institutions to help MSME players in Papua who already have NIBs.

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the provision of NIBs in Papua was a part of the distribution of identification numbers in 20 regions across Indonesia.

It is part of the central government’s effort to launch and ease licensing of all business actors, regardless of the scale of the business, he added.

"It is the directive of the President that we, the Investment Ministry, are not allowed to only take care of large investments. We also have to take care of the small ones," he said.

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Translator: Indra Pribadi, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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