JAKARTA. State-owned financing company PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) will tap a higher number of micro businesses in 2015 and expand its coverage to the eastern part of the archipelago. PNM president director Parman Nataatmadja said the company had targeted various maritime-related businesses located in eastern Indonesia. “We have actually penetrated the eastern market but would like to develop it more, targeting businesses in Gorontalo, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces,” he told The Jakarta Post recently. He acknowledged the high potential of several provinces in the east of the country had driven the company to enter the market several years ago, even though its operations were still largely focused in Java. Parman said that PNM had provided financing to micro enterprises in the marine fisheries and spices segments in some of the eastern markets, including Ternate, North Maluku province. The financing scheme for regions in the country’s east will become part of Rp 4 trillion (US$321.7 million) in total new financing that it hopes to disburse next year, up from Rp 3 trillion channeled in 2014. With the new financing, its outstanding financing portfolio will surge to around Rp 16 trillion by the end of 2015. PNM was set up in 1998 after the financial crisis and is wholly owned by the government. It took over the financing role of Bank Indonesia, which is not allowed to directly channel micro loans. At the moment, it has 706 branch offices across the country that serve about 200,000 micro and small enterprises. To help finance the 2015 target, PNM had recently sold Rp 500 billion in debt papers. It had also generated about Rp 500 billion from several medium-term note issuances this year, according to PNM executive vice president Arief Mulyadi. The firm is looking to issue other bonds soon and to offer limited participation mutual fund products (RDPTs) in 2015 to raise more funds. “We have secured around Rp 1.2 trillion in loans from 19 banks as well,” Arief said. According to Parman, PNM expects capital injection from the government to assist the company expand its financing reach. The State-Owned Enterprises Ministry’s deputy for business services, Gatot Trihargo, previously said that the ministry would inject about Rp 500 billion of state capital into PNM to boost its “positive performance”. Talks on the capital injection are currently underway and the result will be included in the revised 2015 state budget. As previously reported, the government plans on proposing the revised budget to lawmakers in early 2015. “Our paid-up capital is recorded at Rp 300 billion and we are already able to channel up to Rp 12 trillion in financing. Additional capital will definitely leverage our capacity,” Parman said. (Tassia Sipahutar)

Editor: Hendra Gunawan