Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir, recently called upon executives of two state-owned construction companies, namely PT Waskita Karya (WSKT) and PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA), to discuss solution for their massive debts issue.
In a post on his Instagram account, Erick Thohir explained that the company executives were summoned over the plan to address the massive debts currently burdening the two state-owned construction companies.
“We were discussing strategic steps in the form of a road map to continue the business transformation program. We continue to encourage state-owned construction companies to have a more sustainable operational cycle that will positively impact the companies,” Erick wrote in his post as quoted on Thursday, January 4, 2023.
Erick revealed that the consolidation and restructuring of state-owned construction companies are currently a top priority for his ministry. Concurrently, Erick plans to integrate several state-owned construction companies by forming a holding company to reduce state expenditures.
“We also encourage those standing alone to become sister companies in the future, to become holdings, and certainly to undergo mergers,” Erick explained.
Amidst the debt crisis affecting state-owned construction companies, Erick also admitted to engaging in special discussions with the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara) for them to continue providing capital support to these companies.
“I would also like to thank Waskita and Wika for their collaboration with INA (Indonesia Investment Authority) to begin inviting investments from INA to be part of this improvement,” said Erick.
In conclusion, Erick advised Waskita and Wijaya Karya to outline a project roadmap for the coming years. “I would like to ask Waskita and Wika to have their roadmap, what will it look like this year? In two years? In three years?” he said.
