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)