GOVT CONTINUES TO FACILITATE SMALL BUSINESSES

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 10 (Antara) - The government continues to facilitate the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which is one of the country's economic pillars in the private sector apart from cooperatives and state-owned companies.         In its efforts to develop SMEs, the government, since the launch of a series of its economic policy packages last year, has included small businesses as one of its targets in its efforts to improve the country's economic development.         Among the economic packages which provides facilities for the development of small businesses is the third package issued in October last year which regulated the facility on how small businesses can get more access to micro loans through the smallholder's credit (KUR) scheme.         The government gave priority to export-oriented SMEs through the smallholder's export-oriented credit (KURBE) scheme.         The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs is convinced that the KURBE scheme will become the best solution to cheap financing problem of SME players and cooperatives.

GOVERNMENT LOWERS INTEREST RATE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 26 (Antara) - Micro and small-scale enterprises (SMEs) are one of the country's economic pillars which are expected to compete in the frontline of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) era.          In an effort to increase the country's economic resilience, the government is developing and empowering SMEs by providing them with a low interest rate through its micro-economic loan program (KUR).          The government has lowered the interest rate of KUR for SMEs from 22 percent to 9.0 percent in order to empower small businesses in the country, Minister of Cooperatives and Small-scale Businesses Anak Agung Gusti Ngurah Puspayoga said.         "The government, through the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-scale Businesses, will further cut the KUR rate for SMEs from the current 9.0 percent to 7.0 percent in 2017," Minister Puspayoga said in Ngawi, East Java, last weekend (February 19).

GOVERNMENT TO PROMOTE SMEs IN TOURISM, EXPORT-ORIENTED BUSINESSES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 17 (Antara) - The government has been urged to lend support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as they use local raw materials and absorb numerous workers and serve as the strong economic pillars of the nation.          "In the face of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), we hope that the government would work to develop micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises," Dr M. Firmansyah, an economic observer of the University of Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, stated on Friday, last week.           After all, the progress of SMEs will benefit the local people as their products will also be consumed locally, he noted.           Therefore, the government has urged banks to provide financing support to SMEs doing business in the tourism sector and also to offer funding assistance to export-oriented SMEs.          The government, through Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank), has indicated its efforts to prepare incentives for banks, which will increase their credits to SMEs doing business in the tourism sector.

GOVT NEEDS TO DEVELOP SMALL, MEDIUM BUSINESSES SERIOUSLY

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 19 (Antara) -- The government needs to develop its small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are the pillars of the country's economy, with the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).          Experts believe that Indonesia's small and medium enterprises are not yet well-developed and need assistance from the government to overcome the numerous constraints they face.          According to Indrasari Tjandraningsih from the Senior Research Centre for Social Analysis (AKATIGA), the development of SMEs in the country still faces internal and external obstacles, which make it difficult for businesses in the sector to survive, grow and thrive.          "Based on the result of a research, SMEs face problems related to professional management, among others, as part of internal constraints. With regard to external constraints, they lack comprehensive and integrated data, while their information distribution system is also inadequate," Tjandraningsih said on Tuesday.          She revealed this in a discussion on "Promoting SMEs and Indonesian Economic Development" held in cooperation with the AKATIGA, the RAND Corporation and the National Team to Accelerate Poverty Reduction (TNP2K).

RI'S SMALL BUSINESSES NOT YET READY TO FACE AEC

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 20 (Antara) - Indonesia's 58 million small and medium enterprises (SME) which provide employment for more than 90 percent of the total workforce are not yet ready to face next year's ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a legislator has said.          Deputy Chairman of Commission VI on trade, industry and investment affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR) Heri Gunawan said Indonesian SME's products are not yet ready to compete in the free trade era in the ASEAN region which will begin at the end of 2015.          As a main pillar of the people's economic activities, small businesses must be prepared in the remaining time before the AEC is implemented at the end of 2015.          The Ministry of Cooperatives and Small-and-Medium Enterprises stated on its official website last March that there were about 58 million SMEs in Indonesia. They were being prepared to be able to participate in a global business environment.          Other data showed that in 2011, SMEs when their numbers were still 51 million, provided employment for some 90 million people, or about 97 percent of the total workforce. They contributed about 53 percent of the income recorded to the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GNP).

SMALL BUSINESSES MUST BE PREPARED TO FACE FREE TRADE

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 8 (Antara) - Indonesia's small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), which constitute the main pillar of the country's economy, need to be prepared to compete in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) next year.          SMEs, which are made up of private sector businesses, have proven to be resilient in the face of the global economic crisis. Indonesia's economy is built on three main pillars, namely state-owned enterprises, cooperatives and private corporations.          Yet, in the era of economic crisis, SMEs have proven they can survive and serve as a real pillar for the country's economy. Therefore, this sector must be prepared to face the AEC, which will begin operating in 2015.          "Like it or not, we are facing the AEC in 2015. This means free trade will also be implemented in Indonesia. If we are not ready, we will be eroded by the free trade system," Airlangga Hartarto, the chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR)'s Commission VI on trade, cooperatives and small business affairs, said on Friday.          The legislator was speaking at a Business Capacity Building (PKU) training session in Cibinong, Bogor District, West Java.

GOVT NEEDS TO FACILITATE CREDITS FOR MICRO BUSINESSES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 19 (ANTARA) - Small and medium enterprises (SME) are in real term the main pillars of the people's economic development as they provide employment for about 90 million or about 97 of  the total workforce and contribute 53 percent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GNP).          Considering the roles the SMEs play in the country's economic development, the government should facilitate and encourage banks to provide credits for them whose number reaches 51.26 million units or about 99 percent of the whole businesses in the country.           "They must be given attention and various kinds of assistance such as access to various information, capital sources and other funding facilities. This should be done based on the people's economic principles," Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said in West Sumatra recently.          The need to provide financial support for SMEs is also voiced by Djemi Suhenda, vice president director of Bank BTPN, in Bandung on Sunday. He said that the number of small businesses in Indonesia now was recorded at 51 million units, of which 36 million were in the poor productive sector.          "The government support is needed to increase small businesses' access to the funding sources, among others by issuing supporting regulations, loan infrastructure, credits, training and researches," he said.           According to Djemi Suhenda, banks so far have only paid attention to micro banking facilities while they still ignored the poor productive sector because they think it would need huge funds while profit they could gain is not significant.          "The micro and poor sectors need fast and easy access to funding sources in order to accelerate and boost their roles in the development of people's economy," he said.          The banker however acknowledged that it was not easy and cheap  for banks to enter into the micro and poor sectors because they would need a huge investment and a business model innovation in order to adjust it to the characters of micro and small people.

FREE TRADE POSES CHALLENGE TO SMALL BUSINESSES

By Andi Abdussalam           Jakarta, May 11 (ANTARA) - Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) which  reached about 49 million units and contributed about 54 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) have served as a back-bone of the country's economy.          With the help of SMEs and other business in the informal sector, Indonesia was able to face the waves of recent economic and financial crises and maintain its economic growth at a positive level, while other countries suffered a lot.          However, a challenge will soon come up. ASEAN  member countries have determined  to establish an economic community in 2015, where goods, service, investment and trade would move freely. Would SMEs in the country be able to face an integrated community with free trade?     "I think it would be hard for the SMEs at home to face the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)," Teguh Boediyana, chairman of the Expert Council of the Indonesian Cooperatives (Dekopin), said.

GOVT CREDIT SCHEME UNABLE TO SATISFY MICRO-BUSINESSES

By Andi Abdussalam
     Jakarta, Sept 14 (ANTARA) - The government's smallholder's business credit scheme (KUR) is basically helpful for financing the informal business sector but to cover the country's over 42 million small-scale businesses and cooperatives, the scheme which this year is expected to help 1.5 million recipients with  funds totaling  Rp15 trillion is almost meaningless.
      "About 99.99 percent of the country's 42.45 million cooperatives, small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) run their business on capital they obtained from informal sources at high cost," Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin)'s Fiscal and Monetary Committee said.
      He said that the capital of as many as 41.8 million of the country's small enterprises comes from the informal money market such as money-lenders who charge interest rates averaging as high as 20 percent," he said.