Kadin urges entrepreneurs to be more adaptive in responding to global dynamics

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) is urging business actors in the country to be more adaptive in responding to the increasingly unpredictable global dynamics.

Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Coordinating Division of Kadin Indonesia, James T Riady, in a statement in Jakarta on Friday, emphasised that global volatility is now a phenomenon that occurs more frequently and must be faced with thorough preparedness.

“We will always face upheavals that are becoming more frequent day by day. This has become a thing of the new normal, the new normal. So we must learn how to smartly respond and smartly adapt to the existing global situation,” he said.

Although facing short-term challenges, James assessed that Indonesia’s economic prospects in the medium to long term remain strong.

“In the Pacific, that means the United States, China, and also Indonesia,” he stated.

He added that Indonesia’s geographic position provides a strategic advantage in international trade because it lies on the main route of global trade flows.

“And Indonesia has an extraordinary geographic strategy. The stretch from West to East takes seven hours by plane. So much international trade has to pass through Indonesia,” he explained.

He also reminded that global pressures such as inflation and rising interest rates are unavoidable challenges.

Therefore, Kadin is encouraging the business world to start optimising sectors that are relatively resilient to global volatility, particularly the domestic market as the main pillar of economic growth.

“And that’s why we must seek opportunities that are anti-inflation, counter-cyclical, meaning the domestic market. So the domestic market must be developed, domestic consumption must be developed,” he explained.

“And some of the President’s initiatives are very important. The MBG (Free Nutritious Meal) programme, for example, is very important because it is domestic consumption. Housing, for example, is also very important. Domestic tourism as well. So these are some initiatives from the government that I think are very good,” he concluded.