Pertamina plans to sell unhealthy units

State oil and gas company has planned to liquidate or sell 35 percent of its subsidiaries, which are loss-making, as part of its efficiency program.

Kontan weekly tabloid quoted Suwito, head of Pertamina's restructuring team, as saying that the plan, which was recently announced by Pertamina's president Baihaki Hakim, was actually not new.

The state company had planned to conduct the restructuring six years ago after receiving a recommendation from American consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group, he said, refusing however to provide the lists of assets to be sold or divested by the state company.

The tabloid said rich investors were eagerly waiting for Pertamine to realize the plan as many of the assets could actually make profits but they now make loss due to mismanagement and corruption,

According to the tabloid, Pertamina had transferred the ownership of its property arm PT Patra Jasa to the company's pension fund named Yayasan Kesejahteraan Pertamina.

Pertamina has also planned to change its aircraft fleet Pelita Air into a scheduled airliner.

Pertamina has also made some hospitals, including those in Jakarta and East Kalimantan's town of Balikpapan, independent, but other hospitals were still dependent on the funds from the state company, the tabloid said.

Pertamina also planned to relinquish to the local authorities the fields that are no longer in production. (*)