Indonesia to sell stakes in ports, airports – report

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia plans to sell minority stakes in some airports and ports to private investors, a report said Thursday, as Southeast Asia’s top economy seeks extra funding for an infrastructure drive.

Holdings of up to 45% will be sold in 10 airports and 20 ports, although the state will retain control of the sites, Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said. 

“Airports and ports that generate profits will be given to the private sectors to be managed professionally,” Sumadi told Bloomberg News.

Sales would start in 2017, with stakes in one airport on Sumatra island and one on the Indonesian part of Borneo to be offloaded, he added.

Airports in particular are seen as a sound investment in Indonesia as passenger numbers soar on the back of years of strong economic growth.

A key part of President Joko Widodo’s drive to boost Indonesia’s economy is through overhauling the vast archipelago’s creaking infrastructure, which has long put off foreign investors.

The government is also seeking extra cash to rein in a budget deficit.

Widodo won office two years ago on a pledge to boost economic expansion to 7% but growth rates have languished at multi-year lows, coming in at 5.02% in the third quarter of this year. – Rappler.com