Govt to regulate sea cargo rule<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): High rates of taxes, levies and lending interest
\nhave discouraged investors from operating cargo vessels carrying
\nthe Indonesian flag, Minister of Transportation Haryanto
\nDhanutirto said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Out of the total vessels transporting the country's exports
\nand imports, only 3.6 percent use the Indonesian flag, while the
\nother 96.4 percent carry foreign flags,\" he told reporters after
\ndelivering a speech at a seminar on \"Tourism, Telecommunications
\nand Transportation & AFTA 2000\".<\/p>\n
He said that out of the ships carrying foreign flags, 15
\npercent are owned by Indonesian companies based in other
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Haryanto said, his office has proposed to the
\nMinistry of Finance that they revise tax rates on vessels
\noperated by Indonesian-based firms.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that Indonesian shipping companies have also
\ncomplained about Indonesia's high interest rates, which reach
\nabout 18 percent per annum.<\/p>\n
\"In Singapore, for instance, interest rates are only about two
\npercent a year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Haryanto also said that the government will continue to
\nimprove services at the country's seaports, to anticipate the
\nincreasing flow of goods after the implementation of the ASEAN
\nFree Trade Area (AFTA) agreement in 2003.<\/p>\n
He explained that during the current Sixth Five Year
\nDevelopment Plan period, the government is constructing and
\ndeveloping 131 seaports, of which 16 will have container
\nterminals.<\/p>\n
Several dry ports will also be ready soon to support cargo
\nshippings, including those in Bandung (West Java), Solo (Central
\nJava) and Cirebon (West Java), Jember (East Java), Palembang
\n(South Sumatra) and Tebing Tinggi (North Sumatra).<\/p>\n
He also said that a number of Indonesia's airports will be
\nmodernized, or relocated to anticipate the boom of the country's
\ntourist industry in the Seventh Five Year Development Plan
\nperiod, when Indonesia expects the industry to be the main
\nforeign exchange earner.<\/p>\n
Tourism<\/p>\n
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave told
\nthe seminar that the country may fail to attract more than six
\nmillion tourists per annum by the end of the sixth plan period
\ndue to a lack of adequate infrastructure, such as airports and
\nhotels.<\/p>\n
Last year, more than four million foreign tourists visited
\nIndonesia, indicating a 17.72 percent increase from 3.4 million
\nin 1993. Indonesia, which received US$4.7 billion from the sector
\nin 1994, expects to earn more than $5 billion in revenues from
\nsome 4.65 million overseas visitors this year.<\/p>\n
The government has also set a target to attract 6.5 million
\nvisitors per annum, with a total spending of $8.9 billion by 1998
\nand more than 10 million foreign visitors per annum by 2003,
\nbringing in at least $12 billion. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-regulate-sea-cargo-rule-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}