Money-losing high-tech industries

Money-losing high-tech industries

The State Minister of Research and Technology and Chairman of
the Board for the Study and Application of Technology, B.J.
Habibie, has admitted that five of the ten state-owned
enterprises under the management of the Management Board for
Strategic Industries are losing money.

They include the Nusantara Aircraft Industry IPTN, the PT PAL
shipyard as well as some high-technology industries. According to
Habibie the losses are incurred not because the industries'
products are inferior but because buyers have to pay in cash for
the products offered.

It seems that without the extension of export credits access
into the export markets will be hard to gain. This is
particularly true for the markets of developing countries because
not only can they not afford to pay in cash, but also because
high-tech products are generally expensive.

As a developing country we obviously cannot judge the
efficiency of our state-owned enterprises solely from the
commercial point of view. We must also look at the problem from
the long-term strategic standpoint.

The losses which so far been incurred by IPTN, PT PAL and the
others could perhaps be offset by the value added, gained in
terms of transfer of technology and human resources development,
both of which Indonesia needs on its path towards
industrialization. If such a transfer of technology can be
achieved, a benefit will be gained that cannot be simply measured
in terms of money.

-- Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta