Astra sees Korean cars as main competitor
Astra sees Korean cars as main competitor
JAKARTA (JP): President of PT Astra International Theodore
(Teddy) Permadi Rachmat has said that the South Korean Hyundai
and Daewoo will be the main threat to his company which produces
Japanese cars.
Teddy told the Far Eastern Economic Review magazine in its
latest issue that the Korean cars which have set up joint-venture
assembly plants in Indonesia will be the main challenge for his
company in the next five years.
Astra International assembles Japanese Toyota, Daihatsu, Isuzu
and Nissan Diesel truck as well as German BMW and French Peugeot.
Teddy acknowledged Astra's limitation in car producing as
heavily dependent on foreign partners.
He said that the growth of automobile company will always rely
on the domestic market.
President Director of PT Starsauto Dinamika -- the assembler
of the Korean cars -- Darwin Maspolin has said that Daewoo and
Hyundai have ambitious plans to become major players in the
Indonesian market.
Starsauto planned to pool its resources, supported by good
quality and services and cheaper prices, to topple the Japanese
market leaders in the country.
However, Astra International whose core business is automotive
production, has diversified into agribusiness such as palm oil
and timber estate, into telecommunications, toll-road and power
generation.
Astra International spearheads Indonesia's challenge to
Malaysia in the global palm-oil market by having more than
160,000 hectares in palm plantations in Sumatra and Sulawesi.
The magazine interviewed Teddy in light of its annual survey
of Asian corporate leadership.
The Hong Kong-based magazine selected Astra International the
winning company in the overall leadership category among the top
10 Indonesian firms.
The state-owned international telecommunications operator PT
Indosat, Toyota Astra motor -- subsidiary of Astra
International -- Freeport Indonesia, Ciputra Development,
Indofood, Bank Niaga, Gudang Garam, Bank Central Asia and Bank
Bali are included in the top 10 winners.
The magazine also lists the top-10 companies from Australia,
Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines,
Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
Indosat was on the top of the list last year which was
followed by Astra International. (kod)