Australians told to invest in RI's agribusiness

Australians told to invest in RI's agribusiness

By Riyadi

NUSA DUA, Bali (JP): Australian Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry Mark Vaile has urged businesspeople from
his country to take the lead in investing in Indonesia's
agribusiness to help the latter recover from the crisis.

Vaile said here on Tuesday that his government would continue
to facilitate Australian businesses venturing into Indonesia's
agro industries.

"I believe agriculture, and industries based on agricultural
products, will form a key sector to lead the recovery in
Indonesia, offering some of the best opportunities for
cooperation between our two countries," Vaile told a business
luncheon organized jointly by the Indonesian Australia Business
Council (IABC).

Because of recent reforms in Indonesia, he said, a number of
opportunities have opened up for Australian firms to invest or
form partnerships or joint ventures in a range of areas.

They include wheat flour and downstream products, commodity
logistics, bulk liquid sugar supply and sugar milling, fishing,
fish handling and processing, raw dairy material and product
exports, investment in palm oil and other plantations, retailing
and agribusiness terminal management.

Vaile noted that investment in those sectors could be pursued
by using Australian technology in Indonesian production
facilities or processing Australian produce in Indonesian plants
for reexport.

By investing in Indonesia, Vaile said, Australian firms could
also access other markets, most notably members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which would form a
free trade area by 2002.

"But Australian business needs to realize that these
opportunities won't be there forever. There are other investors
equally interested in working with Indonesia, and we need to
seize the opportunity, before the window of opportunity closes on
our fingers," he told more than 100 businessmen from both
countries.

Vaile expressed his optimism that new Australian businesses
would eventually come to Indonesia once the current uncertainties
on the political front were resolved.

He noted that Australian government and businesses had strong
faith in Indonesia and have confidence in the country's long-term
outlook.

"As Indonesia endures crisis, one of the countries on your
side, both in political level and commercial level, would be
Australia and Australian business people," he told The Jakarta
Post.

He said his ministry would continue to assist the development
of Indonesia's agribusiness through the Working Group on
Agriculture and Food Cooperation.

The working group, set up in 1992 at the first meeting of the
Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum, has undertaken a number of
projects, including Australian assistance in quality management
in livestock management and meat processing, in horticultural
production and on tropical fruit production management.

Besides agribusiness, Indonesia has key opportunities areas
for Australian businesses especially in the mining and resources
sector, financial services and restructuring, health,
infrastructure, environment as well as privatization of state
firms, said Bruce Wallace, senior trade commissioner at Austrade
Indonesia.

Speaking at the IABC one-day business forum, Wallace said the
strength of bilateral ties and geographical proximity would keep
Australian businesses in Indonesia investing more in the country.

Noke Kiroyan, president of mining firm Rio Tinto Indonesia,
said the resource sector would still attract great interest from
foreign investors provided that the government honors all of its
contracts.

He noted that the mining community was currently waiting for
the new mining bill, which would soon be submitted to the House
of Representatives for deliberation, to replace the 1967 mining
law.

Ian Michael Colley, president of ANZ Panin Bank, added that
despite ongoing concerns over the bank restructuring program,
Indonesia's banking industry has in one way become one of the
attractions for foreign investors following the government's move
to lift the foreign ownership limitation.

In addition, the comprehensive banking sector rationalization
would leave only good banks in operation.

The IABC one-day business forum preceded the Australia-
Indonesia Ministerial Forum and the Australia Indonesia
Development Area (AIDA) meetings which would start on Wednesday.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer would lead the
Australian delegation for the meeting. The Indonesian delegation
would be led by Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and
Industry Ginandjar Kartasasmita.

The meetings will discuss regional and domestic developments
affecting the relationship, and ways in which the two countries
can work together to develop further two-way trade and investment
across a broad range of sectors, including mining, agriculture,
science and technology as well as transport and infrastructure.

The ministers will also hold a separate meeting on the Timor
Gap. At this meeting the Indonesian delegation will be led by
Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, while
Australia's is to be led by Minister of Industry, Science and
Resources Senator Nick Minchin.