Two Indonesian state firms to raise 8t rupiah by selling private equity funds

[JAKARTA] Two Indonesian state companies plan to sell private equity funds to raise 8 trillion rupiah (S$762.8 million) to strengthen their finances, the government said on Tuesday.

Infrastructure development is a core part of President Joko Widodo's economic agenda and state firms are taking up most government projects.

Earlier this month, Standard & Poor's Global Ratings highlighted a deterioration in the balance sheets of SOEs that are involved in a government-led infrastructure push.

State-controlled construction firm PT Waskita Karya and toll-road operator PT Jasa Marga are in the process of selling some shares in several toll roads in the form of private equity funds, Ahmad Bambang, deputy state-owned enterprises (SOE) minister, said in the statement.

The move was aimed at "strengthening companies' finances as they are both currently investing heavily ... in large scale infrastructure projects," Mr Ahmad said, adding that some pension funds had expressed interest in investing.

Waskita and Jasa Marga did not respond to requests for comment.

REUTERS