Mega calls on businesses to prepare for free trade era
Mega calls on businesses to prepare for free trade era
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri called on the country's
businesses to be prepared for the looming trade liberalization
era despite current economic woes at home.
She said that local businesses must use their comparative
advantages to improve competitiveness as the government would not
continue its protectionist policies.
"We cannot keep applying defensive measures amid threats of
imported goods that will enter our domestic market," Megawati
said in her opening speech during an award ceremony for the
country's most impressive export firms. The acknowledgement is
known as the Priminiyarta Award.
"We don't have much time. Next year, we'll enter the ASEAN
Free Trade Area (AFTA)," she added.
Several businessmen had earlier urged the government to launch
measures to protect local industries against cheaper imported
products amid the current global economic slump. Some businesses
had also said that they were not yet prepared to face AFTA.
Under the AFTA program six of the oldest members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are required to
slash import duties on manufacturing and agricultural products to
between five and zero percent.
Megawati said that Coordinating Minister for Economy
Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti and Minister of Industry and Trade Rini
Soewandi had been instructed to work closely with related
ministries or state institutions to develop a strategy to face
the trade liberalization era.
A total of 37 export companies received the Primaniyarta Award
for their outstanding export performance over the past five
years.
Of the 37 recipients, 13 were national-level firms and the
remaining were companies operating at the provincial level.
The president hailed the award winning companies for their
relentless effort to move forward despite a gloomy outlook in
both domestic and international markets.
According to Rini the award assessment was carried out by a
team of experts from various departments and state institutions.
Noted economist Suhadi Mangkusuwondo chaired the panel of
judges.
The basic criteria used was that the participating companies
should be free of bad loans, tax debts and customs and excise
services. Perhaps the most important criteria was that companies
could not be under the supervision of the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA).
Wednesday's occasion was the first to be held after a five-
year hiatus. Primaniyarta awards were bestowed upon exporters
annually from 1992 until it was suspended during the 1997
economic crisis.
Exporters participating in the selection process were divided
into four groups according to the total value of their exports
over a five-year period, ranging from US$500,000 to over $70
million.
The star of the day was cooking oil producer PT Musim Mas
after it took home this year's Primaniyarta Gold award. It was
the fifth time the company had received the award.
Musim Mas is an integrated agro-industrial group of companies,
which owns oil palm plantations, palm oil refineries and oleo-
chemical industries in Sumatra and Java. The group was honored
with the Primaniyarta export award every year between 1992 and
1996.
PT Busana Perkasa Garments, which topped the four medium-size
exporters that received the Primaniyarta, owns apparel factories
in Bogor, W. Java.
Busana Perkasa's foreign customers include such famous brand
names as Nike, Liz Claiborne, Marks & Spencer, Jones Apparel
Group, Tommy Hilfiger, Levi Strauss, Philips Van Heusen and Ralph
Lauren.
Busana Perkasa, which also received the export award in 1996,
exports to 20 countries mainly in Europe and the United States.