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)