The Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs, Syarief Hasan, is optimistic that the lower target for the disbursement of the People’s Business Credit (KUR) – set at Rp13.1 trillion – will be achieved by the end of the year.
Speaking at a Limited Coordination Meeting (Rakortas) with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, 33 provincial heads of Cooperatives and SMEs (KUKM), and directors of 19 banks responsible for KUR disbursement, Syarief said, "Insha Allah the target will be reached. However, the Coordinating Minister wants the acceleration to be expedited so that performance can be maximized."
He noted that this year’s KUR target is lower than last year’s, when it exceeded Rp20 trillion. According to Syarief, this reduction is due to a delay of one quarter in disbursement because of the implementation of new regulations. "We only reached the lower target because we lost one quarter in disbursement – we lost four months due to the new policy," he explained.
Despite the delay, the Minister remains confident that the lower target of Rp13.1 trillion can be achieved within one month, given that KUR disbursement has already reached approximately Rp12 trillion. Looking ahead to 2011, the government plans to set the KUR target at Rp20 trillion.
Coordinating Minister Hatta Rajasa also emphasized that the KUR program has the full support of the government. "KUR is important and must succeed because it is part of what we call financial inclusion, which was discussed at the G20," Hatta said. He added that during the G20 meeting, countries were encouraged to adopt credit schemes like KUR—loans without collateral—which Indonesia has pioneered.
Hatta further stressed the importance of unsecured business loans for the small community, as many remain unbankable. Since the program’s launch, over 3 million borrowers and 400,000 MSME entrepreneurs have “leveled up,” and he hopes that even more entrepreneurs will progress to become new middle-class business owners.
He reminded banks that there is no need to hesitate when disbursing KUR to the small community because the government has already provided guarantees through two credit guarantee companies, Jamkrindo and Askrindo. "If any bank asks for additional collateral, it means they are not following the regulations. Jamkrindo (and Askrindo) guarantee 80 percent, and the banks only take on the remaining 20 percent," Hatta explained.
For this program, Hatta mentioned that the state has allocated Rp2 trillion per year for guarantees.
The Minister also highlighted that he frequently visits regional areas to socialize about KUR and directly observe its implementation.
(source: depkop.go.id)