Australian companies networking in Asia

Australian companies networking in Asia

By Dewi Anggraeni

MELBOURNE (JP): There is very little doubt that Australia is serious about moving further into the global market. The third National Trade and Investment Outlook Conference, convened by the government on Dec. 4 to Dec. 6 in Melbourne, was attended by over 1,200 delegates, the number increasing each year.

Attended by business representatives from Indonesia, Brunei, The Philippines, Malaysia, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, China, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Australia, it was decidedly a networking party.

Indonesia's presence was bigger than previous years, with approximately 50 delegates representing various companies of all sizes. Indonesian Minister for Transportation Dr. Haryanto Dhanutirto was one of the speakers at the Opening Plenary Session, inviting businesses to invest in Indonesia. The Market Update Session on Indonesia attracted 500 delegates, swallowing almost half of the total conference population.

The market session update was the corporate version of show and tell, preceded by a talk of exhortation, by the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Allan Taylor.

Ambassador Taylor assured interested delegates that Indonesia was committed to further growth and deregulation, and that overseas confidence in Indonesia continued to increase, beckoning those still hesitating to join in.

Exhortation would be all talk if not followed by show and tell. After political stability, business entrepreneurs with more caution than adventure in their blood usually look for leaders. Leaders with a success story under their belt. And since the majority of the delegates were not corporate giants, they wanted to know if small and medium enterprises could step in the area without sloshing into a quicksand of bureaucracy and other, as yet, unknown difficulties.

James Fennesey of Lend Lease Corporate Services cheerfully recounted how his company strove (rather than strode) to success through good knowledge of the field. Lend Lease believes in partnerships with local companies to move further into the market. And moved far it did. It is now in partnership with Sinar Mas and BII. Fennesey even showed a chart displaying that Indonesia was firmly in the "comfort zone", as far as doing business overseas was concerned.

For those not in the same size business as Lend Lease, there was Roy Rogers of Bissaloy Steels. Bissaloy had only begun exporting to Southeast Asia five years ago, Roy Rogers -- no corporate cowboy -- explained. A medium-sized company with enough oomph in its veins, Bissaloy went into the region, especially Indonesia, knowing there were risks.

One risk they knew was the lack of infrastructure so taken for granted at home. However, one does not have to step onto the terrain blindfolded. "We used the assistance of Austrade for market research and introduction to local companies," Rogers confessed. Another aspect he emphasized was cultural sensitivity. For this he openly thanked his Australian education which had prepared him for the task of crossing cultures in business. "To do business it is important for us to feel comfortable with one another," he said. One-third of their time was spent building relationship with their Indonesian partners, Rogers stressed.

James Riady of Lippo Group provided the interface, so to speak. Educated in Australia, successful in business in Indonesia, his word was as good as gold. Riady assured the delegates that the Indonesian government's track record in its commitment to open the economy was unshakable. He even gave an added dimension to the picture. A 7 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product, he said, did not tell the whole story. "The private sector in Indonesia has grown much faster, approximately 16 percent," confided Riady.

Every good picture deserves a frame. Shanty Poesposoetjipto of Soedarpo Corporation provided the framework, complete with historical facts and figures of Indonesia's economic development, enhancing the credibility of the stories told by the previous speakers.

The conference can be roughly divided into three groups: those who sought capital, goods and services; those who sought markets for their goods and services; and those who sought user-friendly places to invest their businesses in. Indonesia, it seems, still falls into the first group, albeit the more alluring variety.

The business world today appears to be a continuing party of networking, where suits for the male of the species are decidedly a prerequisite.

Dewi Anggraeni is a journalist and writer based in Australia.