Local surveyor firm to diversify its products<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned PT Surveyor Indonesia will diversify
\nits products and reduce the number of foreign personnel in its
\noverseas branches prior to the termination of its pre-shipment
\ninspection contract in April 1997.<\/p>\n
Toga M. Sitompul, a Surveyor Indonesia director, said
\nyesterday that his company will continue with its other
\nbusinesses after the contract, which has been the lifeblood for
\nthe company.<\/p>\n
\"As the contract will expire, we are of course looking for
\nother jobs, either from the government or the private sector,\"
\nToga said after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of
\nunderstanding between Surveyor Indonesia and German surveyor firm
\nTUV Nord.<\/p>\n
Surveyor Indonesia president Faried Sybli Barchia said his
\ncompany and TUV Nord will set up a joint operation in the field
\nof ISO-9000 and ISO-14000 certification.<\/p>\n
In addition to quality management services, Toga said Surveyor
\nIndonesia will enter other inspection businesses, including the
\nhalal certification of food to be consumed by Moslems, assessing
\nthe value and prices of aircraft, ships and other high-tech
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
\"We so far have not done enough in quality assurance as well
\nas in inspection businesses in general because all of our
\nresources have been directed toward pre-shipment inspection. Now,
\nhowever, we are changing and we can do many things,\" Toga said.<\/p>\n
The government, through a finance minister decree dated May
\n28, will terminate Surveyor Indonesia's pre-shipment inspection
\ncontract, effective on April 1, 1997, or three months earlier
\nthan its original expiration date.<\/p>\n
The decree, however, does not stipulate if the pre-shipment
\ninspection system will be maintained or not. It only asks
\nSurveyor Indonesia to prepare for the termination of its
\ncontract.<\/p>\n
The decree is possibly to allow the Directorate General of
\nCustoms and Excise to resume its inspection authority over
\nexports and imports.<\/p>\n
The directorate general lost its inspection authority in mid-
\n1985, when the government installed the pre-shipment inspection
\nsystem for Indonesia's imports in a bid to ensure the smooth flow
\nof imports.<\/p>\n
\"It is only one contract. And normally, a company has many
\ncontracts in hand. So, when one of its many contracts expires, it
\nshould not create any problem for the company,\" Toga said.<\/p>\n
However, revenues from the pre-shipment inspection contract
\nhave played a vital role in the company's total revenues. The
\ncompany was established in 1991 by the government, in cooperation
\nwith the Geneva-based Societe Generale de Surveillance, to take
\nover the inspection of Indonesian imports at points of loading.<\/p>\n
Toga projected that the company's net profit will decrease
\nsharply when the company stops conducting pre-shipment inspection
\nworks for the government next year.<\/p>\n
The company expects to record a net profit of Rp 75 billion
\n(US$32 million) this year, up from Rp 25 billion last year and Rp
\n13 billion in 1994. However, the company's net profit is expected
\nto drop to Rp 40 billion next year. Toga said the company's net
\nprofit is likely to drop again in 1998.<\/p>\n
To reduce operation costs, Toga said, his company plans to
\ndismiss some 500 foreign personnel at its 17 foreign branches.<\/p>\n
However, he added, the company will retain Indonesian
\npersonnel in its overseas branches to run their operations.<\/p>\n
\"There is no other single business entity in Indonesia, either
\nstate or privately-owned, which has as an overseas network as
\nextensive as Surveyor Indonesia. Our network has become a
\nnational asset which must be maintained,\" Toga said.<\/p>\n
He added that the company will use its overseas branches for
\nIndonesia's international trade purposes. The company will offer
\ndata-providing services to both exporters and importers.<\/p>\n
When asked about a possible merger with the other state
\nsurveyor firm, PT Sucofindo, Toga said his company is ready to do
\nwhatever its shareholders want.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Finance's Director General for State
\nEnterprises Bacelius Ruru has said that the government is
\nstudying the possibility of merging Surveyor Indonesia and
\nSucofindo for the sake of efficiency. (rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/local-surveyor-firm-to-diversify-its-products-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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