Jakarta – The Indonesian government may raise between 7.2 and 9.25 trillion rupiah (750-963 million dollars) from its privatisation program this year, a minister said Wednesday.

The estimate includes between 4.0 and 5.1 trillion rupiah from the sale of international telephone operator PT Indonesian Satellite Corp. (Indosat), State Enterprises Minister Laksamana Sukardi told parliament. The government has said it will divest its stake in Indosat through strategic sales, to be carried out in June and October.

Sukardi's estimate is about twice as high as the one in this year's budget, which envisages proceeds of 3.952 trillion rupiah from privatisation,

Cash-strapped Indonesia's privatization program has won the strong support of international donors. But the program has been faltering amid opposition from some politicians, members of the public and employees.

Last week 300 workers staged a protest against the plan to sell the stake in Indosat, urging Sukardi to resign. "Selling state assets will bring misery to the people," read one poster.

After years of false starts Indonesia clinched a crucial sell-off on March 14, when US investment firm Farallon Capital won the bidding to buy a 51 percent government stake in Bank Central Asia.