Jakarta. Arya Sinulingga, a senior official at the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Ministry, recently applauded BNI’s performance.

The state-owned bank has been ramping up its credit distribution to fellow SOEs, and this has had a positive effect on SOEs’ performance.

“The success of SOEs’ transformation as envisioned by Minister Erick Thohir makes SOEs not only survive the past pandemic, but also help spur its growth in a sustained manner. BNI has taken part in driving that SOE transformation,” Arya said in a recent statement.

Bank financing is pivotal to business growth, according to Arya. 

“SOEs’ consolidated net profit reached Rp 183.9 trillion in the first semester, up by 12.9 percent year-on-year from the same period last year. With various transformation efforts that continue to be carried out, including by forming holdings and improving management governance, this will definitely have a more positive impact on the overall SOE performance,” Arya said.

BNI has already rolled out Rp 97.9 trillion in credit for Indonesian SOEs in September. This marks a Rp 6.3 trillion year-to-date increase from Rp 91.6 trillion in December 2022.

BNI’s credit distribution went to the state-run energy firms such as Pertamina and PLN. The bank also distributed credit to the logistics agency Bulog. It is also taking part in infrastructure projects by providing credit to toll operator Jasa Marga, while also driving financial inclusion with pawnshop Pegadaian.

Many SOEs have been gearing up for expansion since the beginning of the second semester, according to BNI's President Director Royke Tumilaar. This is expected to further drive Indonesia’s economic growth.

“Indonesian SOEs are beginning to grow. We are happy with this trend because SOEs have become a huge economic engine to the country,” Royke said in a statement.

Royke also applauded today’s SOE governance. This led to a positive effect on BNI’s credit quality, in which the bank tries to strike a balance between credit growth and being prudent. He added: “BNI will proactively analyze projects that can bring added value for the economic growth, starting with the potential sectors in the SOE segment,” Royke said.