City urged to revoke levy on indoor ads

JAKARTA (JP): Operators of major shopping centers in Greater Jakarta urged the city administration on Saturday to abolish a levy on advertisement billboards and banners inside their premises.

An executive of the newly established Association of Indonesian Shopping Center Operators (APPBI) said the step was badly needed by the operators to help lower their tenants' operational costs, in an attempt to keep them running their business during this time of hardship.

"The abolition of the levy for indoor ads at shopping centers would truly help the tenants and in turn would help us, the operators," APPBI chairman M. Sjohirin said during the association's inauguration.

Sjohirin, who is the general manager of PT Plaza Indonesia Realty, the operator of Plaza Indonesia shopping center, gave no details of the levy.

According to a 1989 city regulation, the amount of the levy on indoor advertisement varies, depending upon location, size and type.

A company installing a billboard inside a shopping center at the city's prestigious area on Jl. Sudirman, for example, must pay Rp 100 per square meter per day.

A banner or sticker is, of course, cheaper.

A cigarette or alcoholic drink company must pay extra.

But, the levy for indoor advertisements is much cheaper than those for outdoor promotions.

Besides asking for the levy's abolishment, the shopping center operators also demanded state-owned gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) to use the local currency, instead of the U.S. dollar, in charging tenants, particularly restaurants and cafes, for its gas.

The other alternative, Sjohirin said, was that PGN could still charge dollars for its gas but at a lower conversion rate.

The shopping center operators, for example, charge their tenants in dollars but the rate is only between Rp 3,000 and Rp 5,000 against one dollar, he said.

Under the current monetary crisis, charging tenants in dollars based on the existing currency rate would only burden their businesses, he said.

According to Pondok Indah Mal manager Hartawan H. Mariyono, shopping center operators and tenants in the capital were facing serious financial difficulties due to skyrocketing operational costs.

On the other hand, he added, the people's buying power has dropped drastically.

Hartawan admitted that most shopping center operators here have had difficulties in gaining profits nowadays.

"We are just trying not to suffer any losses," he said.

Worse, he said, the number of tenants is tending to decrease because of this difficult situation.

"But we always try our best to keep the remaining tenants and find new ones," Hartawan said.

He admitted that many foreign retailers were willing to open their stores here.

But so far, they are still waiting to see the situation in the country.

"They are still not sure about the security here," Hartawan said.

Both Hartawan and Sjohirin could not predict when business at shopping centers would recover.

Many shopping centers are still packed with visitors, especially on weekends but, apparently, many of them go to malls and plazas only for window shopping.

The association's inauguration ceremony on Saturday was also witnessed by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture's Director General of Arts and Culture W.J. Pranoto.

Sjohirin said APPBI has also received guarantees for the security of its members from the Jakarta Military Command.

Dozens of shopping centers were burned and looted during mid- May riots.

APPBI members include those who manage Plaza Indonesia, Pondok Indah Mal, Ciputra Mal, Daan Mogot Mal, ITC Roxy Mas, Lippo Supermal, Megamal Pluit, Plaza Glodok, Puri Indah Mal, Taman Anggrek Mal, Sunter Mal, Kelapa Gading Mal, ITC Mangga Dua, Blok M Mal, Cinere Mal, Depok Mal, Kalibata Mal, Plaza Blok M, Ambassador Mal, Atrium Plaza, Gajah Mada Plaza, Jakarta Design Center, Pasar Festival, Plaza Senayan, Lippo Cikarang and Metropolitan Mal. (jun/bsr)