TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Indonesian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Kadin) is proposing that the government offer China an investment facility in the energy and mineral sector.
“For example a facility on investment management permits,” said Ali Herman Ibrahim, Head of Kadin Energy Development Permanent Committee, in his office, Monday (5/4).
Up until now, Ali said, China has taken a great amount of Indonesia energy and mineral resources.
“But we also hope that Indonesia will not only sell raw material, but also processed materials,” he said.
That is why, he continued, in the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, Indonesia could position itself so China would want to open a mineral processing factory in Indonesia.
“Hopefully we could have a bargaining position with that,” said Ali.
According to Kadin, the investment offer profits both parties.
China has large capital, meanwhile Indonesia has the natural resources.
An economic expert from the Institute of Economic Development and Finance (INDEF), Fadhil Hasan, said that the ASEAN-China free trade will push export growth above 10 percent.
“As a consequence, economic growth could be between 5.8 and 6 percent," said Fadhil in the dialogue "RAPBNP 2010: The Commitment on the Community’s Economy” in the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) office Monday (5/4).
According to Fadhil, the near 6 percent assumption is more in line with reality.
The reason is that Indonesia is one of the countries which had positive growth besides China and India when other countries had negative growth during the global crisis.
The government predicts economic growth of 5.5 percent this year. EKA UTAMI | ARYANI KRISTANTI
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