PT Bimantara, Hyundai to set up automotive plant
PT Bimantara, Hyundai to set up automotive plant
JAKARTA (JP): PT Bimantara Cakra Nusa of Indonesia and Hyundai
Motor Company of South Korea have formed a joint venture to set
up an automotive manufacturing plant in Purwakarta, West Java, to
produce Bimantara cars.
Chairman of the Bimantara Group, Bambang Trihatmodjo, and
chairman of Hyundai Motor Co., Mong Gyu Chung, signed a joint-
venture agreement here yesterday.
"As I said before, although we were not given national car
status (to benefit from duty and tax breaks) from the government,
we will proceed with our plans," Bambang said.
The venture, called PT Bimantara Hyundai Indonesia, is 50
percent controlled by Hyundai Motor Co. and 25 percent each by
Bimantara Cakra Nusa and PT Asriland.
Bambang Trihatmodjo, President Soeharto's second son, has a
stake in Asriland, but how big a stake is not immediately clear.
Asriland is developing the 500-hectare Bimantara Automotive
Industrial Estate in Purwakarta
Bimantara Hyundai Indonesia president Jongkie D. Sugiarto said
the initial paid-up capital for the joint venture was $150
million.
He said investment in the plant was estimated at $400 million.
The joint venture is to produce sedan cars and commercial
vehicles.
Jongkie said the plant would have an initial production
capacity of 100,000 vehicles a year, with working two shifts.
Construction will start soon and be completed by the end of
next year. And by January 1999, the plant would start producing
vehicles with local content of more than 60 percent, Jongkie
said.
The auto complex will have assembling, body stamping and
machining facilities.
Jongkie explained that if machining was carried out locally
the car would be credited with having a 25 percent local content,
body stamping would add another 20 percent, and assembling 5
percent.
"We will buy the remaining 10 percent to 15 percent from local
vendors to achieve a 60 percent local content in our vehicles,"
Jongkie said.
He said the Bimantara Cakra sedan -- a renamed Hyundai Accent
imported from Hyundai Motor Co. in complete knocked down form and
assembled locally -- was 20.64 percent made with local
components.
And the Bimantara Nenggala sedan -- a renamed Hyundai Elantra
-- had a 20.79 percent local content, he added.
As Cakra and Nenggala sedans contain more than 20 percent
local components, the tariffs on the remaining imported
components are dropped to 50 percent, down from 65 percent.
On top of import tariffs, the cars are also subject to a 35
percent luxury sales tax and 10 percent value added tax.
When Bimantara can produce vehicles with a 60 percent local
content it can sell them at very low prices as the remaining
imported components will be exempted from import duty and luxury
tax. (rid)
Timor -- Page 12