GOVT TO RAISE CEILING BUT CUT RATE OF ITS KUR CREDIT IN 2018

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 22 (Antara) - The government will raise the ceiling of its subsidized KUR micro business credit scheme from Rp106.6 trillion this year to Rp120 trillion in 2018 but will cut its interest rate from 9 percent to 7 percent.          Besides raising the ceiling and lowering its interest rate, the government will also allocate about 50 percent of the KUR credits next year to the small business production sector to further boost the production activities of small businesses.          Of the Rp106.7 trillion KUR credit allocation in 2017, some Rp91.3 trillion or 85.6 percent has been disbursed until the end of November.          "The performance reflected the government policy of favoring small businesses by providing them with access to financing," Darmin Nasution, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, said after a coordinating meeting on KUR 2017 evaluation and 2018 KUR plan in Jakarta, Friday (Dec 8).          The government made the decision to lower the KUR business credit interest rate from 9 percent to 7 percent, which will come into effect on January 1, 2018, in the hope that people's economy would be generated.

FISHERIES SECTOR NEEDS MORE MICRO BUSINESS CREDITS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 2 (Antara) - Fisheries is one of Indonesia¿s sources of revenues that need adequate funds for its development and utilization in a sustainable manner. Yet, it cannot develop faster due to lack of funds.         "The fisheries sector is growing slowly due to a number of constraints. The government needs to further boost the realization of the fishery micro business credit (KUR) credit because fishery business needs financing stimulus to grow faster," National Coordinator of the Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW), Moh Abdi Suhufan, said in Jakarta on Sunday (Oct 28).         The smallholder's KUR scheme for the fisheries sector, therefore, needs to be further enhanced as currently, the KUR credit beneficiaries are dominated by the trade and agriculture business sectors.          The realization of KUR for fisheries reached Rp1.19 trillion in late September 2017 from the total KUR realization of Rp69.9 trillion. Thus, the realization of the credit is expected to increase further as there are three more months for banks to channel KUR credits to the fisheries sector.

CREDITS TO REACH SMALLEST SEGMENT OF BUSINESSPERSONS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 16 (Antara) - The government is currently giving greater attention to small businesses, notably micro-, small-, and medium-scale businesses (UMKM), by increasing the volume of its subsidized credits through the micro business loan (KUR) scheme.         Last year, it had set a target to provide KUR worth Rp120 trillion for UMKM. Although only Rp94.4 trillion of the 2016 target was realized, yet it significantly increased from the KUR extension worth Rp22.7 trillion of the targeted Rp30 trillion in 2015.         This indicates the government's highest commitment to developing small businesses, which play the biggest role in the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) growth.         The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, on its official website, revealed that the number of UMKM in Indonesia had reached 58 million in 2014. Other data showed that UMKM had contributed about 53 percent to the nation's GDP in 2011.         Hence, UMKM are now drawing greater government attention. This year, it is also planning to provide a special credit scheme for the smallest segment of businesspersons. This was disclosed recently by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati who termed the credit scheme as 'super micro' credit.

SMOOTH SUBSIDY TO SPEED UP KUR CREDIT EXTENSION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 17 (Antara) - The government has over the past several years launched a subsidized loan program for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises called the KUR credit scheme to boost the economic activities of small businesses.         The program is conducted by KUR credit distributors appointed by the government. The interest of the KUR credits is subsidized so that distributors can extend loans to recipients with lower interest rates.         The interest rates of the KUR credits the recipients had to bear was 22 percent in 2014. It was lowered to 15 percent in 2015 and nine percent this year. The government is planning to cut it further to seven percent in 2017.         In order to accelerate the distribution of KUR credits, which this year is targeted to reach Rp120 trillion, the government should guarantee the smoothness of its subsidies so that the program would not disturb the cash flow of distributing institutions.         Bank Indonesia (BI) said the government needs to be organized and disciplined in allocating the budget for subsidizing the interest of its KUR credit program for small businesses

GOVERNMENT UPBEAT OVER MICRO LOAN TARGET By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 20 (Antara) - The government is optimistic about its target of disbursing micro loans (KUR) worth Rp120 trillion to small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in 2016.          The optimism is based on the fact that until the first week of April this year, the distributor banks or financial institutions assigned by the government were able to disburse Rp31 trillion in KUR credits, or about 25.8 percent of the target.          "We forecast that the target can be achieved even before the end of the year," Bobby Hamzah Rafinus, the deputy for fiscal and monetary coordination of the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, stated here on Monday (April 18).          So far, the trend has been that the disbursement of the KUR credits is usually faster after the first quarter of the year. Bobby also believed that expeditious availability of KUR credits in the coming quarters would be fueled by an increase in the number of KUR credit distributors.          Earlier, only a handful of banks acted as distributors. Now, financing institutions and cooperatives can also function as KUR credit distributors.          The government has increased the number of distributor banks from seven to 19. Most of the total KUR credit target this year will be disbursed by the three state-owned banks.

BANKS ACCELERATE DISBURSEMENT OF MICRO LOANS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 20 (Antara) - Banks assigned by the government to distribute micro loans (KUR) to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are accelerating efforts to provide credits, so that the amount would reach over Rp20 trillion this year.          Moreover, the amount of credits that had been extended until November 17 by distributor banks -- Bank BRI, Bank Mandiri, and Bank BNI -- only reached Rp11.7 trillion, or less than half of the government's target to extend KUR worth Rp30 trillion this year.          "The distributor banks are making various efforts to expedite the realization of KUR to small businesses," Braman Setyo, the deputy for business restructuring and development of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, stated here on Thursday (Nov. 19).          He noted that the distribution of KUR credits until November 17, through Banks BRI, Bank Mandiri, and Bank BNI, had only reached Rp11.7 trillion. Therefore, the three executing banks are doing their best to expedite the provision of KUR, so that the amount disbursed this year could reach over Rp20 trillion.

POLICY PACKAGE WIDENS MICRO LOAN ACCESS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 9 (Antara) - The third phase of the government's economic policy package offers a chance to get micro loans (KUR) for entrepreneurs and for families with routine income, who wish to do business in the productive sector.          Chief Presidential Communication Team leader Ari Dwipayana said in written statement on Wednesday that the third economic policy package included efforts to expand the recipients of micro loans for small businesses, known as KUR.          "In order to widen banking access for entrepreneurs through the KUR scheme, the government has lowered the interest rate for KUR loans from about 22 percent to 12 percent," Ari said.          Under the new policy package, the government said families with routine income, who are willing to do business in the productive sector, would receive KUR credits.          With this policy, banks that have been assigned to distribute the KUR credits have been asked to actively offer the loans to such families. "This is expected to boost the number of KUR loan recipients and to facilitate the emergence of new entrepreneurs," Ari said.