Craftswomen produce batik fabric in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo: Antara) Jakarta (VNA) – The State-Owned Banks Association(Himbara) on July 2 expressed optimism that its bank members can disburse up to90 trillion Rp (6.32 billion USD) in loans to help small businesses recoverfrom the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Himbara chairman and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) president director Sunarsosaid the banks were ready and committed to expand their loan disbursements tothree times the amount of funding placed by the government as part of itsnational economic recovery programme.
The four Himbara members comprise BRI, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), BankTabungan Negara (BTN) and Bank Mandiri.
The banks will prioritise the disbursement tothe micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) segment in several sectors likefood and distribution, tourism, transportation, housing and construction.
The banks deem these sectors as having potential demand amid the easing of thelarge-scale social restrictions (PSBB) as the government strives to keep theeconomy running.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati announced last week that thegovernment would place 30 trillion Rp in state-owned banks to be disbursed asloans to businesses to help support economic recovery.
The fund placement and the working capital loan guarantee are part of thegovernment’s 695.2 trillion Rp budget to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19pandemic, which has battered Indonesia’s healthcare system and the social andeconomy sectors.
The government now expects the country’s economy to contract by 0.4 percentthis year under the worst-case scenario or grow 1 percent under the baselinescenario as the pandemic ravages the economy./.
VNA
