Conglomerates' idea wins support
JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Aburizal Bakrie welcomed yesterday a proposal that large companies allocate two percent of their profits to helping narrow the gap between rich and poor in Indonesia.
"Good. It's a good idea. I think we should arrange the next steps and how to undertake it," he said after attending the official launching of a cellular digital radio telephones (CDRL) project by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave at the Wisma Bakrie building yesterday.
An Indonesian business tycoon, Eka Tjipta Widjaja, suggested on Tuesday that large and medium-sized businesses with profits of or exceeding Rp 100 million (US$44,150) per year might contribute two percent of their profits to finance measures aimed at narrowing the economic gap.
A number of the country's leading conglomerate owners issued a declaration in Bali on Sunday in which they said they would develop business partnerships with small and medium-sized companies.
According to Aburizal, better known as Ical, Kadin has already prepared follow-up measures to the declaration.
"A number of Kadin executives met on Tuesday with leaders of the Prasetiya Mulya foundation to discuss possible partnerships in certain areas," he said. "I hope that by the end of this year Kadin will be able to commence certain projects."
Economist I Nyoman Moena said that Eka's proposal was "noteworthy, because it has been put forward by one of our leading businessmen."
Moena, a former president of PT Surveyor Indonesia, said the two percent of profits proposed by Eka should be taken from net profits, so that it does not reduce the companies' taxable incomes.
The proposal, however, still requires the support of other conglomerate owners, Moena said. He suggested that the country's leading business figures establish a forum to attend to the realization of the objectives set forth in the Bali declaration.
He added: "If Eka's proposal can be realized, there will be a large pool of cheap funds which can be used by small and medium- sized enterprises."
Radio phones
The CDRL project, launched yesterday, belongs to PT Radio Telephone Indonesia (Ratelindo), a subsidiary of the Bakrie Group.
Ratelindo is 55 percent owned by PT Bakrie Electronics Company of the Bakrie Group and 45 percent owned by state-owned domestic telecommunications operator PT Telkom.
Ratelindo's president, Hardianto Kamarga, said that the company had allocated some $82 million for the CDRL project, which includes the installation of 21 base transceiver stations.
The government has licensed the company to install 280,000 CDRL lines, of which 250,000 are to be installed in the greater Jakarta area and 30,000 in Bandung, West Java.
Ratelindo's CDRL system, the first of its kind in Indonesia, will use radio frequencies rather than wire cables. Call tariffs will be the same as those applying to the use of the fixed lines operated by Telkom. (icn/rid)