Chemical industry has bright future: Kalla

Chemical industry has bright future: Kalla

SANUR, Bali (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade Yusuf Kalla
said on Wednesday the future of the chemical industry remained
bullish despite the closure of some chemical-based companies in
the last two years.

Speaking at the opening of the 29th ASEAN Chemical Industries
Conference, the minister said with abundant sources of raw
materials and huge market potentials, the local chemical industry
still had bright prospects.

"Nearly every type of raw material for chemical products, such
as crude oil, natural gas, coal, copper, palm oil and rubber, is
found in the country," he said in his speech.

Some 80 representatives of chemical-based companies from
Southeast Asia, Germany, Belgium, the United States, Britain,
Japan and China are taking part in the meeting, which ends today.

The executives are slated to join the AESAN Plus Regional
Seminar at the Chemical Weapons Convention in the same venue on
Friday.

Zaenal Soedjais, the chairman of the conference, said the
agenda included discussions on the problems and prospects for the
region's chemical industry in the new millennium.

"We hope the conference will also produce some recommendations
to solve the problems currently being faced by most of the
region's chemical-related companies," he said.

According to Kalla, the Indonesian government had issued a
series of packages to support the chemical industry in the
country.

He promised that the government remained committed to helping
the industry, such as by maintaining tax incentives for those
operating in frontier areas.

Kalla said that the chemical industry, which at present
contributed 6.4 percent of the country's total exports and 11.6
percent of the employment, would record a higher growth rate this
year after experiencing setbacks in the last two years.

Fadel Muhammad, the vice chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (Kadin) for metal, machinery and chemical-
based industries said about 40 percent of the country's 1,500
chemical companies were forced to halt operations last year due
to the crisis.

"Many chemical companies were forced to stop operations due to
their inability to import raw materials," he said, adding that
the sharp depreciation of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar made
imported raw materials too expensive for them. (zen/hen)