Rudi Hartono Calls for Oversight of Pharmaceutical SOEs’ CAPEX, Idle Assets a Concern

PARLEMENTARIA, Bandung – Member of Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives Rudi Hartono urged pharmaceutical state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to optimize their existing assets before increasing capital expenditure (CAPEX). He said available production facilities should be put to use so that corporate investments deliver tangible benefits rather than resulting in idle assets.

He said several state-owned pharmaceutical companies, including Kimia Farma, Indofarma, INUKI, and Bio Farma, already had buildings and factory facilities. However, based on the presentations he had received, some facilities were still inactive or not being used optimally.

“I want to point out that, based on presentations from five years ago or earlier, many of Kimia Farma, Indofarma, INUKI, and Bio Farma’s assets already had buildings, sir. Factories, but some are inactive, that’s the situation, sir,” Rudi said during a Specific Working Visit by Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives to PT Bio Farma in Bandung, West Java, on Friday (13/11/2026).

He questioned why existing facilities had not been put to use to support business operations. These assets could potentially be brought back into use to support production activities and pharmaceutical product development. He also noted the opportunity to use the assets to support product innovation.

He cautioned against allowing facilities that had already been built to fall into disuse while the companies still needed to expand their capacity and production activities. Alongside asset optimization, Rudi stressed the importance of managing CAPEX carefully and responsibly. He said capital spending funded by public money had to be accountable, from budgeting through implementation.

“Sir, this is the people’s money, the public’s money. We are the ones who get criticized, sir, in the House of Representatives. But of course, it doesn’t stop with us. We approve it, and the funds flow to the ministries and down to the SOEs and the parties at those SOEs, sir,” he said.

He therefore hoped that every capital expenditure decision would be based on companies’ needs and take into account the potential of assets they already owned. CAPEX oversight is needed to ensure that pharmaceutical SOEs’ investments are well-targeted, productive, and able to strengthen the national pharmaceutical industry. (Krs/um)