Country Profile: Italy
Country Profile: Italy
ITC promotes business-to-business relations
Indonesia and Italy have enjoyed a fruitful relationship for decades, reinforced by the presence of the Italian Trade Commission (ITC), which operates as a section of the Italian Embassy in Jakarta.
The office of the ITC in Jakarta, an operational branch of the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade in Rome, was opened in 1981. It provides information and assistance to Italian businesspeople interested in taking advantage of Indonesia's expanding market, as well as to Indonesian companies seeking Italian trading partners.
The ITC represents an important point of reference for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the business communities of both countries whenever they look for trading partners and new opportunities.
The year 2004 was a positive one for the Indonesian economy: the total value of Indonesian merchandise exports rose to a record high of US$70 billion in 2004 -- up by 11.5 percent compared to 2003 -- while merchandise imports rose 40 percent year-on-year to $46 billion.
In this framework, Indonesian imports from Italy were worth 491 million euros in 2004, comprising capital goods such as industrial equipment, civil engineering plants and equipment, telecommunications equipment, machinery tools, synthetic fibers, textiles and leather machinery.
As in 2003, industrial equipment accounted for almost 50 percent of Italian exports to Indonesia, positioning Italy as the fourth largest EU exporting country to Indonesia.
Indonesian exports to Italy reached 1.186 million euros in 2004, comprising mainly coal, petroleum products, furniture, textile yarn, footwear, pulp and paper, and garments.
The increase in the total value of bilateral trade to 1.677 million euros in 2004 brought the trade volume between Indonesia and Italy back to precrisis levels. In 1996 the total value of bilateral trade was equivalent to 1.618 million euros.
As far as investment is concerned, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in Indonesia approved nine Italian investment projects worth US$6.70 million in 2004. Most of the projects involve small and medium-size Italian enterprises in the sectors of eco-tourism, furniture, hotels, restaurants and services.
ITC is also engaged in a full-fledged promotional program. A number of trade missions have been organized for Indonesian companies, especially those interested in attending relevant exhibitions in Italy such as Valenza Gioielli, an important jewelry fair in the country.
Many important exhibitions and trade fairs in Indonesia saw the presence of Italian information desks, or "Punto Italia". These desks were organized at the Bandungtex Fair of textile machinery in Bandung, in June 2004, at the Food Processing & Packaging Indonesia in Jakarta, in September 2004, and at the Manufacturing Indonesia in Jakarta, in December 2004.
In addition, the ITC also opened an Italian National Pavilion at the Aseanwood woodworking machinery exhibition in Jakarta in September 2004. A technical seminar on Italian glass-processing machinery was held in Jakarta in October 2004, and a technical seminar on Italian textile machinery was held in Bandung in February 2005. The latest "Punto Italia" was organized at the Food and Hotel Indonesia exhibition in Jakarta last April.
This promotional program will continue into the near future. The sectors targeted for promotional activities in the second half of 2005 and in 2006 will include textile machinery, woodworking machinery, marble and natural stone processing machinery, petrochemical equipment, footwear and tanning machinery, food processing and jewelry.
On July 26, 2005, ITC will organize -- in cooperation with the Italian Marble Institute -- a technical seminar on marble and natural stone processing machinery in Makassar.
In today's highly competitive global market, Italian capital goods and technology, known for their high quality, innovation and flexibility, certainly suit the current needs of Indonesian businesses.
Indonesian entrepreneurs seeking trade and investment opportunities in Italy and in Indonesia, or looking for any information on "made in Italy" and innovative Italian products, are welcome to contact the ITC Office in Jakarta. -- Marina Damaggio, the Italian Trade Commissioner