Indonesia to depute trade mission to China
Indonesia to depute trade mission to China
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will send a mission to China next
month to promote trade and investment ties between the two
countries.
Susila Budi Moeffreni, president of PT Indo Asean Persada, the
organizer of the mission, told reporters over the weekend that
executives of 23 companies will take part in the mission, which
will include a five-day exhibition in Beijing called Indonesian
Opportunities '96.
The participating companies will include the state-owned
aircraft manufacturer PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara
(IPTN), the Sahid Group, which is controlled by businessman
Sukamdani S. Gitosardjono, and the Citra Lamtoro Group, a
conglomerate controlled by President Soeharto's eldest daughter
Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana.
The exhibition, which is supported by the coordinating
minister for production and distribution's office, is scheduled
to start on Sept. 26 and feature such Indonesian export products
as textiles, cosmetics and furniture, as well as services such as
tourism, construction and aviation industries.
The first secretary of the Chinese embassy in Jakarta, Tan
Weiwen, said that the mission is expected to help boost the two
countries bilateral trade, the value of which is still far below
its potencies.
He acknowledged that the two-way trade between Indonesia and
China, which normalized diplomatic ties in 1990 after a 23-year
freeze, steadily increased from US$890 million in 1989 to $3.5
billion in 1995.
Such a value of trade between two of the most populous
countries of the world is too small, he said.
China, with a population of 1.2 billion people, is the world's
most populous nation, while Indonesia is the fourth most populous
with a population of almost 200 million.
According to Tan, Indonesia enjoyed a surplus of about $500
million from its trade with China last year.
Susila said that during the first four months of this year,
Indonesia's exports to China reached $550 million, while its
imports from that country were recorded at $512 million, giving a
trade surplus of $38 million to Indonesia.
Quoting Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution
Hartarto, Susila said that instead of focusing its international
trade only on traditional export markets like the United State
and European countries, Indonesia should also promote its exports
to other potential markets, including China.
China, according to the International Monetary Fund, has a per
capita income of between US$700 and $1,200 in remote provinces
and between $4,100 and $5,000 in Beijing and Shanghai, he said.
Susila said that Indonesian products which can be exported to
China include furniture, household appliances, textiles,
garments, cosmetics, traditional medicines, handicraft, foodstuff
and electronics.
Construction materials, such as timber, metal and plastic
pipes, ceramic tiles and granite, also have opportunities for
exports to China, he said. (jsk)