Govt calls for int'l trading network

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)