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