Data Check: State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Dividend Payments Continued to Increase Until 2018

Presidential candidate number two, Sandiaga S. Uno, in the fifth debate, read a letter regarding the management of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The letter expressed concerns about Indonesian state-owned airlines losing competitiveness against foreign airlines.

Sandi questioned the strategy of presidential candidate number one, Joko Widodo, in managing SOEs.

In his response, Jokowi stated that data shows the contribution of SOE profits to the state is continuously increasing. This indicates that the government also pays attention to SOEs. Jokowi mentioned that there will be holding companies that will strengthen Indonesia's position internationally.

Presidential candidate number two, Prabowo Subianto, agreed with candidate number one on making State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) "world-class companies." However, the current concern is that SOEs are not yet strong enough as a national economic bulwark.

The Ministry of SOEs stated that dividends in 2018 are expected to reach Rp 43 trillion. Previously, contributions to the government in 2016 reached Rp 37.13 trillion. This amount is equivalent to 14.47% of the total Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) of Rp 262 trillion, or 2.4% of the total domestic revenue of Rp 1,547 trillion.

For information, throughout the period 1994-2016, state-owned companies consistently paid dividends to the government totaling Rp 407.24 trillion. The exception was 1999, when no dividends were paid due to the impact of the 1998 Asian financial crisis. The largest contribution of SOE dividends to the state was recorded in 2014, reaching Rp 40 trillion.