Govt intent on correcting high cost economy
Govt intent on correcting high cost economy
JAKARTA (JP): Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto assured a delegation of American business executives yesterday that the government would continue to pursue liberalization, prudent policies and cut down economic costs.
"We will continue to eliminate the bottlenecks which have created a high cost economy," Hartarto told the 20 corporate executives at a luncheon here yesterday.
He said the government would continue improving its prudent economic policies "for the next several decades".
Hartarto was speaking during a luncheon organized by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's American section to honor the visiting business delegation.
The business executives represented 11 American multinational corporations looking for Indonesian partners to enhance business ties between the two countries.
Among the U.S. companies represented by the executives were the American International Group, American Express, Bank of America, the Chubb Corporation, General Electric, Goodyear, McDonald's, Samsonite and the Oracle Corporation.
Hartarto strongly urged the companies to examine the possibilities of making investments in Indonesia and forging a synergy with Indonesian companies.
The delegation's visit here falls under the banner of the U.S.-ASEAN Council. The Council will hold a dialog with senior officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bali tomorrow.
ASEAN is a socioeconomic organization which is comprised of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Attractive
Speaking to journalists, several of the executives later commended the steps taken by the government to create an increasingly attractive market.
Stewart Dean, the resident representative of General Electric, said the business climate in Indonesia has improved, especially in the past three years.
"Indonesia is very competitive in Southeast Asia and all of Asia," Dean said when asked to assess the business climate here, while adding that the government is doing the right thing in its policies to deregulate the economy.
Raymond M. Cesca, an executive of the McDonald's food franchise company, expressed his appreciation that Indonesian government officials are seemingly open to suggestions for improving the business climate.
"They actually solicit your input," he claimed.
However, the president of the U.S.-ASEAN Council, Ernest Bower, said that investment relation between the two countries is "not at an optimum level right now."
He noted that while Indonesia has much potential as a market, deregulation must be continued.
Russ Soh Long Shu of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies said that despite the recent deregulations, his company still found itself limited in some ways and urged liberalization in the financial sector.
Meanwhile, Lauren Lenfest, Oracle Corporation's director of international trade, suggested that the government address the issue of protecting intellectual property rights. (mds)