Private Briefing: Indonesia’s Minister of State Owned Enterprises

Rini Mariani Soemarno, Indonesia’s Minister of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), will join Asia House corporate members for a private briefing on July 10. On a visit to the UK accompanied by representatives from a number of the largest SOEs, the Minister will discuss President Jokowi’s reform agenda as well as the broader economic outlook for Indonesia.

State-owned enterprises lay at the heart of Jokowi’s infrastructure agenda.  The revised 2015 budget passed by Indonesia’s House of Representatives in February allocated $3 billion in capital injections for state companies to accelerate infrastructure development. The move however has raised concerns among investors as state firms have been tainted by allegations of corruption and inefficiency.

Minister Soemarno has stated her intentions to overhaul state firms to improve competitiveness. While privatisation remains an option, her priority is on improving the management and transparency. The government currently owns or controls 119 enterprises ranging from transport and banking, to pharmaceuticals, with combined assets of about 4,500 trillion rupiah.

Rini Mariani Soemarno was born in Maryland, USA on 9 June 1958. She received her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wellesley College, Massachusetts, USA. She was the Vice President, Citibank N.A. Jakarta in 1988 and served as the Deputy of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) in 1998. She became the President Director of PT Astra International Tbk in 1998, Indonesia’s largest automotive distribution firm. She was then appointed and served as the Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Republic of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 under former President Megawati Sukarnoputri. She led as the Chief of Staff of the Jokowi-JK Transitional Office and on 27 October 2014, she was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo as the Minister of State Owned Enterprises in his Working Cabinet 2014-2019.

This event is open to Asia House corporate members only.

For further information, please contact: Jeremy Wimble, Business & Policy Team at jeremy.wimble@asiahouse.co.uk or call 0207 307 5439.