BritCham at a glance
BritCham at a glance
The British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesian, or BritCham,
has operated here under various guises since the early 1970s.
It began with a modest start approximately 30 years ago, as an
initiative of the then Ambassador Sir John Ford, to facilitate
informal gatherings of British businesspeople at the Indonesian
Petroleum Club.
In September 1975, it was notarized as an association
representing British business interests in Indonesia and quickly
evolved into a serious business organization.
In recognition of its role in the Indonesian business
community, an extraordinary general meeting of members of the
then Indonesian British Business Association (IBBA) decided by
unanimous vote in December 1998 to transform IBBA into a Chamber
of Commerce.
As a result, the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia came
into being on April 1, 1999.
The chamber, which has as a tagline of "facilitating trade and
investment between Indonesian and Britain", is supported by a
full-time professional secretariat with an office in the World
Trade Center, 8th floor, in Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 31, Jakarta.
It enjoys a current membership of over 460 persons, including
the vast majority of British firms operating in Indonesia as well
as Indonesian members who have commercial links with Britain.
Members can get information on forthcoming meetings and events
through the chamber's monthly magazine Up.date and its website
www.britcham.or.id.
BritCham corporate members include Standard Chartered
Bank, Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, Rolls-Royce, ICI,
British Petroleum, Balfour Beatty, British American Tobacco, BOC
Gases, British Gas, British Aerospace, British Airways, Jardine
Matheson, Cable&Wireless, Cadbury Schweppes, Courtaulds, Costain,
Royal Doulton, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, The Body Shop,
Powergen, GEC, Prudential Assurance, Reckitt & Colman, Reuters,
Securicor, Taylor-Woodrow, Thames Water and Unilever.
Membership offers benefits such as opportunities to
participate in a range of sector or issue groups, including
aerospace and defense; insurance, banking and capital markets;
cross-sector group on human resources, energy, healthcare,
infrastructure, manufacturing and retail; and hospitality.
In addition, members receive invitations to monthly breakfast
and lunch meetings at which speakers address subjects of current
interest to the business community.
These meetings involve keynote speakers from the Indonesian
Cabinet and government, international financial institutions,
universities, local political advisers, British media
representatives and the local business community, as well as
visiting business leaders and ministers/politicians from the
United Kingdom. --JP