Summary
In March 1998, Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises were in dire straits after years of poor management, political interference and the economic recession following the collapse of the rupiah. Tanri Abeng was appointed as Indonesia's first Minister for State-owned Enterprises and given the challenge not only of restructuring the state sector - but also of creating from scratch the new ministry to undertake the task. He launched a program to restructure the state-owned enterprises, to increase their productivity and unlock their value, thus laying the foundations and the processes that have the potential to materially change the role, governance and performance of Indonesia's state sector.