Jakarta Fair '94 takes in Rp 26b in reported transactions
JAKARTA (JP): This year's trade fair at the Kemayoran New Township, which ended over the weekend, recorded at least Rp 25.95 billion (US$11.9 million) in reported business transactions involving 344 companies.
The 28-day fair, which was closed on Saturday night by Soekardjo Hardjosoewirjo, was also estimated to have registered around Rp 25 billion in unreported transaction.
Soekardjo is the president of the Jakarta International Trade Fair Corporation, the group which organized the fair.
At a reception held to mark the closing of the event, Soekardjo said Monday evening this year's reported transactions were 31 percent higher than that of last year's of Rp 19 billion.
The reception was attended by Minister of Industry Tungky Ariwibowo and Deputy Governor for Economic Development Tubagus Mohammad Rais.
Of the total recorded transactions, Rp 4.38 billion, or 16.8 percent, were contributed by 13 foreign companies from Taiwan, Singapore, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Hawaii. Last year, 207 foreign companies participated in the Fair.
The value of transactions in household wares and equipment, with a total volume of Rp 3.7 billion, was registered as the highest among foreign participants. Factory equipment, with a value of Rp 607 million, took second place.
Business transactions among Indonesian companies saw the highest transactions in motor-vehicles and car-accessories with a total value of Rp 9.8billion. Household appliances and machinery took second and third place respectively, with a total value of Rp 6.2 billion.
As to visitors to this year's fair, Soekardjo said the figure reached a total of 2,263,072 people or 20 percent higher than last year, which saw 1,884,810.
The fair organizer set a target of 3 million visitors to this year's fair.
World Cup effect
When asked why the target was not reached, Suparmadi, the fair's public relation officer told The Jakarta Post, "Perhaps it was because our target was too high, or because the fair coincided with the World Cup."
Soekardjo attributed the 20-percent increase to the fair's earlier opening hours. Last year, the fair opened from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. but this year it opened from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Soekardjo said that of the 14,800 respondents who filled in questionnaires distributed by the fair organizers to identify visitors' occupations, 18 percent of them were business people, 37 percent government and private company employees and 34 percent youths.
Meanwhile Capt. Police Bambang Darmoko, the head of the Kemayoran police, North Jakarta, told the Post that the crime rate had dropped drastically from last year's levels.
"I would say it has reduced by around 50 percent," Bambang said.
"Only one motor-cycle was reported to have been stolen. But it was not parked in the fair's parking lot," said Bambang. He added that police apprehended only seven people for thefts during the one month fair. (arf)