Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) is hoping to extend Rp 15 trillion (US$1.64bn) in new loans this year, a 25 per cent increase from Rp 12 trillion in new loans extended in 2004.
"We expect to channel about 90 per cent of this year's new loans to SMEs," said BRI president Rudjito before the launching of a book on BRI Keluar Dari Krisis (BRI Exits from the Crisis) by State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto in Jakarta.
BRI says in the report that its total amount of outstanding loans increased from Rp 47.51 trillion as of the end of 2003 to Rp 58.1 trillion as of last September. Of the total, more than 85 per cent were channelled to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Most of the other financial indicators of the bank, such as non- performing loans (NPL) and loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR), are just as encouraging.
