2007年VOA标准英语-Indonesian Minister Hopes to Privatize State-Ow

By Chad Bouchard
Jakarta
07 June 2007

The Indonesian government says it hopes to privatize its more than 100 state-owned enterprises in an effort to raise money for the cash-strapped budget, improve transparency, and encourage foreign investment. Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta.

Sofyan Djalil (2005 file photo)

Sofyan Djalil, Indonesia's minister for state enterprises, says he would like to work himself out of a job over the next few years.

The Indonesian government currently owns about 120 companies valued at almost $147 billion, many of them a holdover from the notoriously corrupt¹ era of former President Suharto's rule. Djalil's ministry² oversees³ them.

The newly appointed minister told reporters Thursday that he plans to reduce the number of state-owned enterprises, or "SOEs," to less than 100 by the end of this year. He plans to group many of them under one large public holding company, and eventually list the remainder on the market.

Djalil says he hopes to reduce the number of SOEs to 50 during his two and a half year term - and to zero if he serves a second term as minister.

"I will put all my state-owned enterprises into the market to force them to be more transparent⁴, to be more accountable, and to be more sensitive to the, you know, the up and down of the market," said Djalil. "And then you will change also the culture of these SOE's if they become a public company."

State businesses such as Garuda Airlines, and the oil and gas producer PT Pertamina, have been criticized for financial mismanagement and a lack of transparency.

Public companies would be subject to oversight⁵ by investors⁶, and quarterly reports would be required by law.

Indonesia also owns some of the world's largest mineral operations, but Djalil says individually, they lack bargaining power and have often missed out on better trade terms.

He says a holding company combining the assets of many small companies would give the Indonesian businesses more muscle.

"Because I see the potential of the state-owned enterprise is so great, the problem is simply under-manage, mismanage, too much bureaucracy, and too much maybe politics," said Djalil. "So that if we can reduce bureaucracy, we can shed the state-owned enterprise from political intervention⁷."

Djalil says the availability of publicly traded shares would encourage direct investment from foreign companies.

Foreign investors have been reluctant to begin operations in a country with a reputation for corruption⁸ and legal uncertainties⁹.

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

5 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告