Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said that at least Rp126.3 trillion (around US$8.31 billion) in smallholder business credit (KUR) has been disbursed to 2.3 million debtors as of July 31, 2023.

The KUR disbursement target has been set at Rp297 trillion (around US$19.55 billion).

"KUR disbursement is currently on a positive trend this year; as of July 31, Rp126.3 trillion (has been disbursed) to 2.3 million debtors, with NPLs (non-performing loans) maintained at 1.63 percent," Hartarto informed at a press conference on the KUR Awards ceremony here on Wednesday.

In terms of achievement, the disbursement of KUR for the production sector has reached 55.4 percent, and the proportion of debtors that have graduated or leveled up has reached 52 percent.

According to him, the disbursement of KUR to the community has also contributed to the national economic growth, as reported by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recently.

BPS recorded Indonesia's annual economic growth in the second quarter of 2023 at 5.17 percent.

Furthermore, growth in lending rose by 9.39 percent, with credit for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) specifically growing by 7.61 percent year over year (yoy)

His ministry will also continue to monitor the need to change the KUR ceiling, which will depend on the interest subsidy indicator.

One of the sectors whose KUR ceiling is likely to be increased is agriculture. The ceiling for the sector was Rp70 trillion (US$4.60 billion) last year.

Speaking at the KUR Awards event here on Wednesday, acting deputy for the coordination of macroeconomy and finance at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ferry Irawan, said that this year, the ministry will continue to improve the quality of KUR debtors.

To this end, the government is encouraging the addition of new KUR recipients or recipients who can level up by considering the indicators for eligible debtors.

At the KUR Awards event, Central Java was adjudged the province with the best strategy for KUR disbursement.

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Translator: Bayu Saputra, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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