The Indonesian government is considering a plan to accelerate the recovery of a number of industries including the footwear and leather sectors through the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA). The plan would be part of a government stimulus package for the private sector to help drive economic growth.

The IBRA took on debts from banks during the financial crisis of the late 1990s, solving immediate difficulties but leaving a number of businesses in key sectors highly indebted.

The secretary to the Financial Sector Policy Committee Syafruddin A. Temenggung said that the government planned to speed up the restructuring of debts in these industries. He explained that the IBRA planned to sell unrestructured loans through securitisation to raise more cash from the loans, a strategy supported by the International Monetary Fund.

The government is keen to attract more private investment in the economy, but there remains doubt as to whether it could afford any kind of stimulus package given the state of the country’s public finances.