Jakarta – Several state-owned enterprises (SOEs) had a combined third-quarter debt of Rp 5.57 quadrillion (US$369.04 billion), most of which were owed by state-owned lenders, an official has said.
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry business restructuration and development undersecretary Aloysius K. Ro, however, said that the debt figure was not a cause for concern, saying that the SOEs were capable of repaying their debts.
"Debt equity ratio to the capital is relatively secure. Therefore, we do not need to worry," Aloysius said as quoted by kontan.co.id on Tuesday.
He explained that the ability of any company to repay debt was also reflected in the company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), and not their annual profit.
If the debt-to-EBITDA ratio ranged between 3 and 4, the company was still capable of repaying its debt, he added.
Aside from state-owned lenders, the other indebted SOEs are electricity company PLN with Rp 543 trillion in debt, oil and gas holding company Pertamina with Rp 522 trillion, pension company PT Taspen with Rp 222 trillion, developer PT Waskita Karya with Rp 102 trillion, telecommunications company PT Telkom with Rp 99 trillion and fertilizer producer PT Pupuk Indonesia with Rp 76 trillion. (bbn)