TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-Eight state owned enterprises have secured US$1.92 billion in foreign exchange (FX) line or hedging facility from three state banks. The eight SOEs signed the FX line agreement Wednesday, May 25, 2016, at the Bank Indonesia building in Jakarta.
The signing ceremony was attended by SOE Minister Rini Soemarno and BI Governor Agus Martowardojo.
"This is a positive step in the efforts to increase corporate awareness to hedge," Agus said during his opening speech.
Agus said that hedging can lessen financial risks and provide cash flow certainties to companies. "When profit is secured, we can avoid risks of default. If a corporate performs well, they will gain investors trust," he said.
The three state lenders that provide the hedging facility are Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), providing a hedging figure of US$750 million; Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) with US$619 million; and Bank Mandiri with US$555 million.
The eight SOEs that secured the facility are Perum Bulog, Perum Peruri, Pelabuhan Indonesia II, Pelabuhan Indonesia III, Aneka Tambang, Perusahaan Gas Negara or PGN, Semen Baturaja, and Pupuk Indonesia.
Minister Rini Soemarno welcomes the FX line agreement. She said that SOEs need to manage their risks in a prudent manner, whether they are business risks in general or foreign exchange risks.
"Exercising prudent management for forex risks is an important matter," she said.
ANGELINA ANJAR SAWITRI
