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