JAKARTA – The interest rate for People’s Business Credit (KUR) this year will see a slight decrease, although not significantly. The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs noted that the interest rate for micro KUR has dropped from 22% to between 20% and 21%.
Coordinating Minister Hatta Rajasa explained that the decision to reduce KUR interest rates was based on the results of meetings held by the Implementation Team on September 12, 2011, and January 6, 2012. In addition to micro KUR, the government has also reduced the retail KUR interest rate from 14% to between 12% and 13% per annum. “These changes in interest rates are also accompanied by revisions to the MoU, PMK, and SOP,” Hatta said in Jakarta yesterday. He added that with the reduction in KUR interest rates, the government’s 2012 target of Rp30 trillion in disbursements is expected to be achieved.
Moreover, the government is adding more banks as KUR disbursement channels. According to Hatta, starting this year, BNI Syariah and 13 Regional Development Banks (BPDs) will join as KUR disbursing banks. This will bring the total number of KUR disbursing banks to 33, including PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BRI), PT Bank Mandiri Tbk, PT Bank Tabungan Negara Tbk (BTN), PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk (BNI), PT Bukopin Tbk, and PT Bank Syariah Mandiri (BSM), as well as 26 BPDs. Hatta expects that BRI will disburse KUR loans amounting to Rp15 trillion, or 50% of the total KUR disbursements.
To achieve this, BRI will need to increase its accessibility, particularly to rural areas. As a note, last year BRI managed to disburse more than Rp16.7 trillion in KUR loans against a target of Rp10 trillion. “Our target in 2012 is to increase community access to KUR, and BRI will expand its branch network to reach rural areas,” Hatta said. The addition of 13 BPDs is intended to maximize each region’s role in KUR disbursement while also increasing access to KUR.
Furthermore, last year the 13 BPDs managed to disburse nearly Rp3.7 trillion in loans. “Based on available data, on average, BPDs provided retail credit to our customers with an average loan size of over Rp20 million,” he noted. Regarding 2011, Hatta revealed that KUR disbursements reached Rp29 trillion, significantly exceeding the target of Rp20 trillion, and grew by 68.6% from 2010’s Rp17.2 trillion.
Sectors receiving the majority of KUR loans include trade, restaurants, and hotels (43%), followed by agriculture and fisheries (16.9%), integrated upstream sectors (14.8%), and other sectors (13.7%). “We expect that from the upstream sectors, not only will micro-enterprises grow, but they will also become bankable or transition into commercial businesses,” Hatta explained.
For regional distribution, East Java ranked first with total KUR disbursements of Rp9.8 trillion (15.5%), followed by Central Java (Rp9.2 trillion) and West Java (Rp8.3 trillion).
Since its introduction in 2007, total KUR disbursements have reached Rp63.4 trillion, with the number of MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) debtors reaching 6 million and an average non-performing loan (NPL) rate of 2.1%. In addition to increasing the number of loans and disbursing banks, this year the government will also add more guarantee companies. Whereas last year there were only two guarantors—PT (Persero) Asuransi Kredit Indonesia (Askrindo) and Perum Jamkrindo—starting next year, PT Jaminan Kredit Daerah (Jamkrida) Jatim will also participate.
BRI President Director Sofyan Basir confirmed that his institution will become a major KUR disburser next year with a target of Rp15 trillion in loans. “Yes, this year we will disburse Rp15 trillion,” Sofyan explained.
(Source: http://www.seputar-indonesia.com/edisicetak/content/view/459311/)