Bonded zones seen reducing RI's current account deficit
Bonded zones seen reducing RI's current account deficit
JAKARTA (JP): Bonded zones, despite hosting export-oriented
companies, cannot help but reduce the country's current account
deficit, legislators have said.
When visiting state-owned bonded zone operator PT Kawasan
Berikat Nusantara, a number of legislators from the House
Budgetary Commission said the export value of companies in the
bonded zones were almost the same as the value of imports, when
freight and insurance was factored in.
"Although most products from bonded zones are bound for
exports they do not contribute significantly to our balance of
payment figure, because most of the products were produced using
imported inputs," legislator Tadjudin Noer Said said.
Kawasan Berikat Nusantara's president, Mursono Siswohardjono,
said the local content of goods produced in bonded zones was
around 10 percent.
Data from Kawasan Berikat Nusantara showed exports from all
bonded zones in the country increased 10 percent to US$1.26
billion last year, of which $367.3 million was contributed by
bonded zones managed by private firms. At the same time, imports
to all bonded zones rose by 14.5 percent to $897.7 million.
"If we calculate how much we have to pay for freights,
insurance and foreign workers in the bonded zones, we might come
to the conclusion that bonded zones do not help reduce the
current account deficit," Tadjudin said.
Another legislator, Bomer Pasaribu, said most industries
coming to Indonesia's bonded zones were to benefit from
Indonesia's relatively low-level labor wages.
He suggested bonded zone operators attracted high-tech
companies or those which would use more local products as their
raw material.
Kawasan Berikat Nusantara currently has three bonded zones: a
173-hectare zone in Cakung; a 10-hectare zone in Tanjung Priok,
and a 410-hectare zone in Marunda -- all in North Jakarta.
The three bonded zones harbor 63 foreign-investment firms and
86 domestic-investment firms. Almost 70 percent of those
companies were working on garments, and the remaining on
electronic and other industries.
They employ 72,820 local people -- 80 percent of them female
-- and 518 foreigners.
There are currently eight bonded zones managed by private
companies. They are a 76-hectare MMID bonded zone in Cibutung, a
24-hectare Cibinong Center Industrial Estate and a 50-hectare
Indo Taisei Indah Development in Cikampek -- all in West Java.
The other four zones include a 200-hectare Lamhotma bonded
zone in Medan, North Sumatra, a 56-hectare zone in Bintan, Riau,
an 84-hectare Lami Citra zone in Semarang, Central Java, the 50-
hectare Pasuruan Industrial Estate and the 35-hectare Ngoro
Industrial Estate in Mojokerto, both in East Java.
All bonded zones managed by private firms are under the
supervision of Kawasan Berikat Nusantara, especially in terms of
issuing certificate of origin for exports and labor-related
business.
Mursono said he was told to focus more on employment than
foreign exchange. Thus, his company's promotional activities
aimed to attract more relocations of labor-intensive industries
from more advanced countries.
He said bonded zones remained attractive for relocation of
export-oriented firms although the government offered various
incentives for export-oriented firms situated outside bonded
zones.
"Currently we have four foreign investors on our waiting list.
It shows we remain attractive," Mursono said. (rid)