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