'More Australian firms will produce car parts in RI'
JAKARTA (JP): Australian Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism John Moore is optimistic that more Australian car- component manufacturers will set up here to support Indonesia's automotive industry.
Moore, who arrived yesterday, said Australian car-component producers had the expertise and engineering skills to supply their products to the country's national car project and other car projects involving Indonesian companies.
"We have excellent component-makers," he said after meeting executives of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) yesterday.
Moore, who will be here until Friday, met Kadin chairman Aburizal Bakrie and other executives, including the head of Kadin's industrial division, Fadel Muhammad, and Secretary- General Sucipto Umar.
Moore will join several Indonesian ministers and other visiting Australian ministers for a two-day meeting, scheduled to start tomorrow.
Don Scott-Kemmis, the counselor for industry, science and technology at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, said that in the last 12 months, at least four joint ventures had been discussed involving the automotive industry. One of them is up and running, involving BTR of Australia and PT Texmaco.
"The others are still at the stage of finding partners here," he told The Jakarta Post.
The government announced a national car policy earlier this year which allows PT Timor Putra Nasional -- a company controlled by President Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra -- to manufacture a so-called national car under the Timor brand.
According to the policy, at least 60 percent of the Timor car must consist of local components by the end of its third year of production.
Timor Putra is developing the car in conjunction with South Korea's Kia Motors Corp. But because it was too difficult to manufacture and assemble the cars here, the government allowed Timor Putra to import the national car, completely assembled, from South Korea.
Interest
Other car-producers have since expressed interest in building national cars, although the government has said the policy would only apply to Timor Putra.
The Bimantara Group wants to turn its Cakra and Nenggala cars into national cars. The Bakrie Group says the same about its Bakrie van, and the state-owned Management Board for Strategic Industries wants its Maleo car to follow the program.
Australia's Millard Design Australia, an automotive- engineering design company, has helped design and develop the Maleo car.
Moore said yesterday that Australian car-component manufacturers would not only focus on the Timor car, because they wanted to sell to other car manufacturers.
Australian companies are also looking for opportunities in Indonesia's mining, food-processing, finance and software industries.
"The new Australian government is keen to make sure that contacts are followed up... We also wish to expand the progress that has so far been made," Moore said.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard earlier this year expected that Indonesia and Australia could double their annual two-way trade to about US$10 billion by 2000.
Statistics show that Australian exports to Indonesia grew by over 30 percent in 1995-1996 on the previous fiscal year, while Indonesia's exports to Australia rose by 27 percent.
Indonesia's trade deficit with Australia increased from US$1.1 billion in 1994 to $1.4 billion last year. In 1995, Indonesia's exports to Australia were only US$0.4 billion, while its imports from that country amounted to $1.8 billion.
Trade between the two countries has grown in a number of areas, including processed food, telecommunications hardware, computer software, construction material, infrastructure items and medical equipment.
About 300 Australian companies are currently operating in Indonesia. Last year, the government approved about $4.5 billion in new investment proposals by Australian companies. (pwn)