TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy of Reconstruction and Business Development Division of the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Ministry Aloysius Kiik Ro said two foreign airline companies are interested to privatize PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines.
“Both companies are in the airline business and may later join the financial service like capital private equity,” Aloysius said in the SOE Ministry Office in Jakarta on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
However, Aloysius is reluctant to mention those two airline companies. The main problem of the government-owned airline is the arrears in employee salary of Rp350 billion.
The money to pay off the arrears are being negotiated by PT Perusahaan Pengelolaan Aset (Asset Management Enterprise). “It should be right sizing so that investors would be intrigued,” said Aloysius. Meanwhile, the source of fund to pay the arrears will be issued by the state.
Previously, SOE Minister Rini Soemarno wants Merpati to be taken over by a private party, as the ministry already owns Garuda, Citilink, and Pelita Air. We think its best that Merpati is taken over by a private party, said Rini.
According to Rini, there are two issues that are being discussed by the Ministry for the company, including the obligation concerning Merpati’s overall payment arrears amounting to Rp1.4 trillion.
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