66 companies awarded for non-oil exports

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto presented yesterday awards to 66 of the country's big and small companies for their outstanding achievement in non-oil exports.

In presenting the awards, the President praised the award recipients and called on other companies to do the same.

He underlined the importance of non-oil exports as a foreign exchange earner to the country,

"We can earn foreign exchange through loan arrangements. But it is risky, especially during a monetary crisis such as now," Soeharto said.

"Non-oil exports are the most reliable foreign exchange earner. It can also stimulate the development of industry. The higher our non-oil exports, the greater chance industry has to develop," he said.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo said the award, called Primaniyarta, has been presented to the country's exporters annually since 1992 as part of the government's effort to promote non-oil exports.

According to Central Bureau of Statistics data, non-oil exports increased 8.98 percent to US$38.09 billion last year, accounting for 77 percent of the total exports of $49.8 billion that year.

Tunky said the recipients of the Primaniyarta awards this year included small and big exporters which could export non-oil commodities valued at between $500,000 and $50 million annually over the past five years.

He said aside from the export value, the 66 exporters were also selected on the basis of their performance in paying tax, their environmental awareness and their efforts to diversify their products and markets.

Tunky said 42 of the 66 Primaniyarta recipients were based in the provinces and were selected by a team of judges chaired by each province's governor.

"There were no recipients from the province of East Timor this year because no exporters in the province qualified for the awards," said Tunky.

The Primaniyarta recipients include PT Busana Perkasa Garments in Jakarta, PT Branta Mulia in Jakarta, PT Indorama Synthetics in Jakarta, PT Indorayon Utama in Medan, North Sumatra, PT Salim Oil Grains in Jakarta, PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur in Bontang, East Kalimantan, PT Aneka Tambang in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, PT Sumi Asih Oleochemical in Jakarta, PT Doson Indonesia in Jakarta, PT Pacific Express in Denpasar, Bali, PT Astra Daihatsu Motor in Jakarta, PT Tonerindo Mitrajaya in Jakarta, PT Sribusana Lumintu in Jakarta and PT Eka Delta Mas in Batam. (jsk/prb)