Queensland to open trade offices here

JAKARTA (JP): The Australian state of Queensland will open trade and investment offices in Jakarta and in the Central Java capital of Semarang next week to boost trade relations with Indonesia.

Senior Trade Commissioner at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Bruce Wallace, said yesterday that Queensland's Premier Robert Borbidge would open the Jakarta office on June 12 and the Semarang office on June 14.

Queensland has been a sister state of Central Java for four years, he said.

All the other Australian states, except Tasmania and New South Wales, have commercial representatives in Indonesia, he said.

Wallace also said Queensland's Department of Public Works and Housing would lead a business mission to Indonesia from June 10 to June 17.

Thirty-one housing and construction companies will be represented in the mission. Forty percent of them are medium and small businesses.

Mission members will meet senior government officials and businessmen to explore joint venture possibilities.

A highlight of the mission's visit will be a seminar called Asset Management-Protecting the Value of Your Property, at the Shangri-La hotel on June 16.

The seminar was co-organized by Queensland's Department of Public Works and Housing and Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works, he said.

Indonesian government data shows Australian exports to Indonesia rose 30 percent from A$2.4 billion in 1995, to A$1.74 billion in 1996, while Indonesia's rose 27 percent from A$1.34 billion, to A$1.74 billion in 1996.

Wallace predicted that with a 30 percent growth rate in two- way trade, Indonesia would replace Singapore as Australia's biggest trading partner in Southeast Asia this year. (jsk)