Govt hails Jetro's commitment to help enhance local SMEs<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government intends to take full advantage of the Japan
\nExternal Trade Organization's (Jetro) commitment to enhance small
\nand medium enterprises' (SMEs) capabilities to support the
\nmanufacturing sector, a senior official says.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie said on
\nTuesday that a strong supporting industry would in turn
\nstrengthen manufacturers of automobiles, electronics and
\nmachinery, among other things.<\/p>\n
\"A strong supporting industry, for example, will eventually
\ndouble exports of electronic goods from last year's US$8 billion
\nto $16 billion,\" he said at the Reinventing Indonesia's
\nIndustrial Competitiveness symposium, jointly organized by Jetro
\nand the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).<\/p>\n
Aburizal went on to say that Indonesia's international
\ncompetitiveness was ranked 44th last year, a significant
\nimprovement as Indonesia ranked 60th in 2003.<\/p>\n
The World Economic Forum ranked countries based on openness of
\ntrade and investment, the role of state, financial availability
\nand infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Later in the afternoon, Minister of Trade Mari E. Pangestu
\nsaid the industrial policy would be aimed more at, \"producing
\nwhat we can sell, rather than selling what we can produce\".<\/p>\n
The government will determine a policy direction, but one that
\nis not too detailed in regards specific industries as it would
\nrequire the government to provide special incentives, she said.<\/p>\n
\"Being too specific would give signals to the banking sector
\nto provide loans to certain sectors. It would become a moral
\nhazard,\" she added.<\/p>\n
However, the government will support the development of SMEs
\nto specialize in manufacturing parts, components and machinery
\nand to eventually be part of the global value chain.<\/p>\n
Thus, even if the country had strong supporting industries
\nthat were attractive to foreign investors, the government would
\nhave to ensure that there was a conducive investment environment,
\nshe explained.<\/p>\n
Jetro chairman and CEO Osamu Watanabe said Indonesia must
\novercome existing problems on delays in infrastructure
\ndevelopment -- labor issues, such as steep hikes in wages that
\nexceeded improvement of productivity, notorious corruption and
\nother so-called \"unclear costs\" and weakened industrial
\ncompetitiveness -- to attract fresh investment.<\/p>\n
Jetro is committed to helping Indonesia form and implement
\nstrategies to enhance industrial competitiveness, including
\nbuilding up supporting industries.<\/p>\n
Through the \"Supporting Industries Promotion Plan for
\nIndonesia\", Jetro will survey Japanese manufacturers in the
\ncountry to find out which parts and components they find
\ndifficult to resource locally.<\/p>\n
\"We will then offer technical guidance to local suppliers of
\nparts and components, focusing on metalwork and other fields
\nidentified in the survey,\" Watanabe said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
\n(Kadin) vice chairman for industry, technology and maritime
\nRachmat Gobel said the country should make full use of this
\nopportunity, otherwise it would lose out to neighboring
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
\"If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to improve our
\nsupporting industries, neighboring countries such as Malaysia,
\nThailand and Vietnam are more than ready to lure global
\nmanufacturers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Rank of Indonesia's Competitiveness in the World<\/p>\n
1997: 15 out of 47 countries<\/p>\n
1998: 31 out of 49 countries<\/p>\n
1999: 37 out of 49 countries<\/p>\n
2000: 47 out of 58 countries<\/p>\n
2001: 55 out of 75 countries<\/p>\n
2002: 58 out of 80 countries<\/p>\n
2003: 60 out of 95 countries<\/p>\n
Source: World Economic Forum<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-hails-jetros-commitment-to-help-enhance-local-smes-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }