Garut, West Java (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the government has prepared Rp283 trillion (US$19.6 billion) for the people’s business credit (KUR) program for developing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“The KUR is provided by the government with 3 percent interest,” he informed while visiting local cattle and poultry business PT Garut Makmur Perkasa (GMP) and some MSMEs manufacturing leather-based products in Sukaregang area, here on Thursday.
He said he expected the Garut district government to continue encouraging MSMEs to utilize the KUR as a solution for low-interest capital assistance.
During the visit, the coordinating minister handed Rp500 million (US$34.6 thousand) in KUR symbolically to local leather craftsperson to help them improve their business and revive the regional economy.
He said he expected that the KUR recipients will be able to grow to become big enterprises in the leather processing sector, like PT GMP, which has succeeded in competing in the domestic and global market.
“The company has been listed on the stock exchange, and we hope that the MSMEs can follow suit the success of PT GMP in the leather processing as well as cattle and poultry farming sectors,” he added.
Chief operating officer of PT GMP, Indrawan Suwidya Adji, said he expects the company to continue to synergize with the government to develop Garut district as a world-class leather industry center.
“If we work together on the raw material, economy, trade, and other aspects regarding the leather industry, we can become one of the countries which are renowned for their leather products globally,” he remarked.
According to him, PT GMP runs a cattle and poultry farming business. The company sells the meat to restaurants and supermarkets and processes the skin as a raw material for making handicrafts, such as leather jackets.