RI export of IT products up

JAKARTA (JP): Exports of information technology (IT) products rose in value 20 percent to US$1.4 billion in 1999, or about 30 percent of the country's total electronic exports, according to Business Intelligence Report (BIRO).

"The good performance is attributable to the fine products made by multinational IT companies who have their factories in Indonesia, mostly located in Batam and West Java," BIRO said in a statement on Wednesday.

Currently, there are at least 15 multinational IT manufacturers who have direct investments in Indonesia, BIRO added.

"Indonesia, to some multinational companies, is still a good place for a production base, despite all the biased news about the country," BIRO said.

IT products that Indonesia exports include telephone and facsimile machines, personal computers, printers, printed circuit boards, semiconductors and integrated circuits.

BIRO said the five major importers of Indonesian IT products are Singapore, Japan, the United States, Malaysia and Germany. (udi)