Chinese TV manufacturer opens factory

TANGERANG (JP): A Chinese television set manufacturer Changhong Electronic Group Corporation officially opened a TV assembly factory at Cikupa here on Friday.

Director General for Industry and Trade Agus Tjahayana Wirahadikusumah officially opened the Rp 25 billion (US$2.9million) investment that is capable of producing 800,000 television sets per year.

The factory, which will also produce airconditioners, digital videos, and other electronic goods, has hired around 30,000 local employees, including 3,430 employees with a higher education background.

Agus said the presence of Chinese electronic goods would benefit the public because the goods, although offered at cheaper prices, have a similar quality to electronic products made in Japan.

"Consumers will be advantaged by the presence of cheaper Chinese goods because all this time only limited products from several countries have controlled the market even though their prices are higher than Chinese goods," Agus said.

He said the government now no longer prohibits the dumping of goods in Indonesia as in practice it can bring a lot of advantages to the people.

"Now, it's up to the people to decide. If they accept the goods, the government cannot do anything about it," Agus said.

Agus' statement was in total contrast to the statement of Minister of Trade and Industry Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who vowed to find ways to curb the influx of cheap Chinese goods, saying that their presence has severely undermined local industries.

Luhut said earlier this year that the government would soon start evaluating whether the importation of cheap Chinese products was in line with the existing trade regulations. The government is ultimately responsible for the flood of inexpensive Chinese products that are sold at prices that are much lower than local products, he added.

President Director of Changhong Electronics Group Zhao Yung said the company saw Indonesia as a great market because in the past 30 years only Japanese electronic goods controlled the market.

"From the beginning, we believe that the consumer will go for goods at cheaper prices but with similar quality. Changhong can provide that with our production plant," Yung said. (41/dja)