inance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa’s plan to take control of microfinance firm PT Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM) from state asset fund Danantara and convert it into a dedicated lender for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is unlikely to resolve persistent credit bottlenecks, analysts say.
Experts warned that turning PNM into a special mission vehicle (SMV) under the Finance Ministry risked duplicating existing institutions without tackling core issues, such as risk assessment, access and borrower repayment capacity.
“PNM already has a strong foundation, […] but transforming it into a bank would require significant capital, strict risk management and robust governance,” Binus University banking expert Mochammad Doddy Ariefianto told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. “Merely shifting mandates without improving governance and underwriting would yield limited results.”
Read also: Ministry’s planned PNM takeover may happen this year, Purbaya says
Indonesia already channels MSME financing through a wide network of state-owned lenders, rural banks, cooperatives and microfinance institutions.
The government also issues subsidized micro loans to MSMEs under the People’s Business Credit (KUR) program via 44 lenders, backed by 12 guarantee institutions and overseen by multiple ministries and agencies.
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KUR disbursement reached around 96 percent of the annual target last year, according to the MSME Ministry, with Rp 270 trillion (US$15.71 billion) channeled to some 3.9 million borrowers.
