New shipping policy needs financial support

New shipping policy needs financial support

JAKARTA (JP): The government's move to allow imports of used
cargo and fishing vessels needs financial and fiscal support,
says a member of the House of Representatives.

Bomer Pasaribu of the House Budgetary Commission said here
yesterday that the deregulation measure would not achieve maximum
results without such support.

"Support could be in the form of credit with low interest
rates, or value-added tax and customs tariff exemptions,"
Pasaribu was quoted by Antara as saying.

This could reduce the country's widening current account
deficit in the transportation sector, which was one of the main
aims of the shipping sector deregulation measures, he said.

The current account deficit in the transportation sector is
about US$3 billion.

About 92.2 percent of exports and imports are carried by
foreign ships, and only 2.8 percent by domestic ships.

The government announced a deregulation package Monday, which
lifted a ban on importing used ships.

The government banned importing the ships to help domestic
ship builders, but the measure failed.

Pasaribu said the deregulation could reduce the extra cost of
using foreign freighters for inter-island transportation.

"Foreign cargo vessels no longer carry export and import
goods, but they have entered the inter-island transportation
business," he said.

He said Indonesia needed to take serious action to strengthen
its marine transportation sector as Singapore and Hong Kong have
done. (das)