NZ continues to promote ASEAN business links
NZ continues to promote ASEAN business links
JAKARTA (JP): The New Zealand government will continue to
promote business links with ASEAN countries through its Trade and
Investment Promotion Program, the program's manager Charles Wood
told reporters yesterday.
The program was founded in 1991 to promote business
cooperation between New Zealand and ASEAN countries. The program
was scheduled to end in 1995, but the New Zealand government has
decided to extend it by several years.
The program handles several promotions including the Food and
Packaging Technology Expo to be held in Wellington in early
October.
"Three business people from each ASEAN country will be invited
to visit the exhibition," he said.
The program will also run a series of environmental
engineering missions starting early next year. The missions are
designed to give ASEAN business people a chance to see New
Zealand's expertise in waste management, water treatment and air
pollution.
Wood said a study in 1994 had identified several areas of New
Zealand expertise that could be offered to the seven ASEAN
countries.
These included human resource development and education; food
and agribusiness; infrastructure, utilities and communications;
environmental technology, engineering and services; applied
technology and science, research and development; and forestry.
Wood said the main obstacle that New Zealand businessmen
encountered when investing in Indonesia was their unfamiliarity
of the people they were doing business with.
Trade growth
New Zealand and Indonesia bilateral trade has grown
significantly since 1990. According to data from the New Zealand
embassy, New Zealand's exports to Indonesia in 1995 were worth
NZ$302.5 million, a 23 percent increase on the previous year's
value and a 118 percent increase on 1989's value.
Its top five exports were pulp (NZ$91 million), dairy products
(NZ$73 million) bones and bone cores (NZ$25 million), meat (NZ$23
million), and aluminum (NZ$20 million).
New Zealand's imports from Indonesia in 1995 exceeded NZ$260
million, an increase of 84 percent on 1994.
The top imports last year were mineral fuels (NZ$115 million),
paper and paper board (NZ$24 million), coffee, tea and spices
(NZ$12 million), footwear (NZ$11 million), electrical machinery
and equipment (NZ$10 million).
New Zealand's trade in services with Indonesia, especially in
education and tourism, has grown tremendously. About 1,200
Indonesians entered New Zealand to study last year, a 300 percent
increase from three years ago. About 30,000 New Zealand tourists
visited Indonesia last year, while some 12,000 Indonesian
tourists visited New Zealand.
New Zealand investments licensed by the Indonesian Investment
Coordinating Board over the last 28 years have accumulated to
NZ$35.4 million. This does not include investment from New
Zealand companies via Australian holding companies or the planned
NZ$690 million to be invested by the New Zealand consortium
(Brierley's, Southpac and Design Power) with President Soeharto's
youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra, to build a geothermal station
in Central Java.
According to data from the embassy, Indonesian businessmen
have so far invested NZ$140 million in tourism and forestry in
New Zealand through nominee companies in Hong Kong and Singapore.
(jsk)