Bonded zone chief shrugs off gripes<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Kawasan Berikat Nusantara (KBN)
\nsays it is not worried by the threats of several industrial
\ncompanies that they will relocate their plants from its bonded
\nzone in Cakung, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"They may relocate their industries to other bonded zones in
\nthe country, but they must also remember that all other major
\nbonded zones are also managed by KBN," said KBN President Mursono
\nSiswohardjono.<\/p>\n
Mursono was commenting on earlier news reports which quoted
\nthe president of PT Mayatexdian, Benny Soetrisno, as saying that
\nMayatexdian and several other industrial firms were planning to
\nmove out of KBN because of what he said were inadequate
\nfacilities, unusually high operational costs and arduous
\ndocumentation procedures.<\/p>\n
Benny said Mayatexdian -- a garment manufacturer controlled by
\nthe Bimantara group -- would be relocated later this year to a
\nbonded zone owned and developed by PT Lamicitra in Semarang,
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
According to Benny, other companies which also plan to
\nrelocate their industries are PT Rapmahita Mangultua and PT Colon
\nInternational (garments), PT Daewa Vinyl (plastic flooring) and
\nPT Kaltimex Namsung (shoes).<\/p>\n
Benny said the bonded zone in Semarang guaranteed cheaper
\nlabor, better infrastructure -- including water, electricity and
\nfactory buildings -- and more favorable cargo-handling
\nprocedures. He said that this was due, among other things, to the
\nshorter distance between the bonded area and Semarang's Tanjung
\nMas port.<\/p>\n
Benny complained that the condition of the factory buildings
\noccupied by Mayatexdian's garment plants in Cakung was rundown
\nand unfit to meet the industry's demand for more modern
\nfacilities.<\/p>\n
Mursono, who was accompanied by the company's directors,
\ndenied the accusations, arguing that "KBN should not be blamed
\nfor a poor business performance which actually was caused by a
\ncompany's own incompetence".<\/p>\n
"The garment industry is currently in a unpleasant state. If
\n(garment) exports are declining due to unfavorable market
\nconditions or poor management, they shouldn't blame us for it,"
\nMursono said.<\/p>\n
Mayatexdian executives were unavailable for comment yesterday.<\/p>\n
Directory<\/p>\n
According to the 1994 Indonesian Capital Market Directory,
\nMayatexdian's total assets increased from Rp 179.2 billion in
\n1991 to Rp 208.9 billion in 1992 and Rp 212.5 billion in 1993.<\/p>\n
Its after tax profits in 1991 were Rp 3.06 billion but dropped
\nin 1992 to Rp 1.06 billion and in 1993 it lost 9.8 billion.<\/p>\n
Mayatexdian was acquired by a consortium led by the Bimantara
\ngroup last year.<\/p>\n
Mursono said that the rental rates charged by KBN, which are
\npresently US$1.65 per square meter per month for factory space
\nand $3 per square meter per year for land, were "very cheap".<\/p>\n
"But when companies can't meet their export targets and the
\nratio between rental rates and exports go up, even such low
\nrentals can be felt to be expensive," he said, adding that in the
\nbonded zone, "successful companies" had a rent to export ratio of
\nabout 1.5 percent.<\/p>\n
Mursono said that if the companies decided to relocate their
\noperations, the move would pave the way for KBN to wholly
\nrenovate the old buildings in the area and bring them up to
\nmodern standards, instead of making patchwork repairs.<\/p>\n
"Actually, we can easily negotiate for the movement of the
\nindustrial activities temporarily to a new building to make way
\nfor our renovation work," Mursono said.<\/p>\n
A number of "successful companies" in the area, he said, had
\nno objection to such a scheme and they were even willing to pay
\nhigher rental fees after the renovations.<\/p>\n
Responding to Benny's complaints about an 0.3 percent
\nmanagement fee applied to the value of exports (free-on-board),
\nMursono said that, since last May, the fee in question had not
\nbeen charged.<\/p>\n
"We have managed to improve efficiency...Therefore we can
\nwaive the fees, which can reach a level of Rp 7.5 billion (US$3.4
\nmillion) a year," he said.<\/p>\n
The volume of paperwork which had to be administered by KBN,
\nMursono said, was also small and could be completed in a single
\nday.<\/p>\n
"Thus, KBN should not be blamed for prolonged documentation
\nprocedures," he said.<\/p>\n
Benny said that document procedures at KBN often took up to
\ntwo weeks and caused serious losses to manufacturers, which were
\nconstantly under pressures to meet their importers' deadlines.<\/p>\n
Mursono said that since August 1993, a lot of the paperwork
\nwhich had once been KBN's responsibility, was now being handled
\nby other offices, particularly the customs service.<\/p>\n
Poor electricity and water facilities, which Benny also
\ncomplained about, were now "better", Mursono said.<\/p>\n
"Several months ago, tap water might stop running, but it
\nwould last only for two or three hours. As for electricity, it is
\ntotally beyond our control because it is managed by the state
\nelectricity company," he said.<\/p>\n
KBN's bonded zone in Cakung covers 173 hectares. The area is
\ncurrently occupied by 108 foreign and domestic companies, 63 of
\nwhich are in the garment industry.<\/p>\n
According to Mursono, seven companies -- involved in various
\nfields -- have expressed an intention either to expand their
\noperations or to establish new industries in the area. (pwn)<\/p>",
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