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.