A worker wearinga a face mask and face shield works at a cracker factory in Depok, West Java, Indonesia, Aug. 13, 2020. Indonesia will distribute working capital assistance for 9 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them revive businesses which have been dashed by the novel coronavirus pandemic, a minister said here on Wednesday. ( Xinhua/Agung Kuncahya B.)
JAKARTA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will distribute working capital assistance for 9 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them revive businesses which have been dashed by the novel coronavirus pandemic, a minister said here on Wednesday.
Each owner of the business will receive a 2.4 million rupiahs (some 162.24 U.S. dollars) fund in the hope it would boost productivity, Indonesian Minister for Cooperatives, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Teten Masduki noted.
"We have prepared the financial assistance and it will be distributed in the middle of this month," he said at the presidential office.
Meanwhile, Director General of Budgeting of the Finance Ministry Askolani said that the working capital assistance was expected to be distributed on Monday.
"The plan is that the financial assistance will be launched on Aug. 17. This program is expected to ramp up productivity," he said.
The partial lockdown and physical distancing policies imposed to rein the transmission of the novel coronavirus have been ravaging business activities as exports depressed.
Besides, the policies have also restricted people's mobility, halted spending on consumption and disrupted chains of supplies.
The Southeast Asian biggest economy decelerated 5.32 percent in the second quarter, still the signs of recovery have emerged in June along with the relaxation of the restrictions and reopening of business activities under tight health protocols.