Chinese TV manufacturer opens factory

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)