Auto firms cool on new regulation
Auto firms cool on new regulation
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian automotive industry has agreed
not to debate the contents of the Presidential decree No.2/1996
which gives tax exemption to the newly-established auto-maker, PT
Timor Putera Nasional.
"We have discussed both the positive and negative impacts of
the regulation. And none of us objected to its contents," said
the Chairman of the Indonesian Automotive Industries Association
(GAIKINDO), Herman Z. Latief.
Herman told journalists after a meeting on Friday evening that
the association will give the government the association's
analysis on the negative impact of the regulation.
He declined to elaborate.
"In the forthcoming meeting with the government we will not
discuss the regulation but the impacts of the regulation," he
added.
The association's cool reaction surprised journalists who
covered the meeting.
The meeting of 12 automobile assemblers, originally predicted
to be "hot" with controversy, finished earlier than expected.
The association, according to Herman, wisely welcomed the
decree.
Alam Wijono from Toyota Astra Motor said "We can not predict
what's going to happen because we are still studying it now."
An executive of another automotive company only said "this is
a government decision."
Meanwhile, the Japanese embassy said on Friday it was studying
the regulation for possible breaches of global trading rules of
the World Trade Organization.
"We are still studying the contents of the package. Generally,
we need to see if it is in line with the WTO (World Trade
Organization) or something like that," the embassy's First
Secretary on economic affairs Koji Toyokuni was quoted by AFX-
Asia as saying.
"The Japanese automotive companies have invested so much in
Indonesia, and I think Japanese industry has contributed a lot to
the development of Indonesia's automotive industry," Koji said.
A retired executive of PT Kramayudha Tiga Berlian Motor, Adi
Sasono, positively welcomed the regulation.
"This is part of our strategy to strengthen the country's
competitive edge," Adi was quoted by Republika as claiming.
The regulation, he says, will also raise investment and create
job opportunities. (08)