Govt calls for int'l trading network

JAKARTA (JP): The government wants state-owned trading companies to develop international trading networks to help accelerate the growth of Indonesia's exports, Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo said yesterday.

"The government is directing state-owned trading firms to establish international trading networks through cooperation with both domestic and international companies," said Tunky's written address to a seminar hosted by the Pancasila University here yesterday.

Read by his assistant Abdul Karim Sudibyo, Tunky's speech said that the promotion of international trading networks was one of the government's initiatives to increase exports to reduce the country's current account deficit.

Indonesia's current account deficit soared to US$6.9 billion last fiscal year from $3.49 billion in 1994/1995 because of sharp increases in imported goods and services.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, exports rose 13.19 percent to $45.41 billion in 1995 from $40.05 billion in 1994, while imports surged 27.03 percent to $40.62 billion from $31.98 billion.

Tunky promised that the government would continue to introduce deregulatory measures and reduce bureaucracy to help reduce production costs and improve the competitiveness of Indonesia's non-oil exports on the world market.

He said the proportion of non-oil exports against the country's total exports increased steadily to 76.96 percent in 1995 from 56.88 percent in 1990.

The minister said the government planned to improve the performance of export-related bodies, such as the National Agency for Export Development, the Export Supporting Council, Indonesian Trade Promotion Centers, the Indonesian Export Education Center and the country's attaches for industry and trade. (06)