RI-the Netherlands maintain strong, active business ties
RI-the Netherlands maintain strong, active business ties
Trade and investment relations between Indonesia and the
Netherlands are more than 400 years old. This long history
explains the strong economic ties between both countries.
Bilateral trade amounts to US$1.3 billion per year.
Indonesian exports to the Netherlands are $1 billion,
partially reflecting the important distribution function that the
Netherlands has for the European market. Dutch imports from
Indonesia grew by almost 20 percent in 1998.
The Netherlands is the seventh largest foreign investor in
Indonesia, with a total invested amount of over $11.5 billion.
For companies in the Netherlands that want to start a business
in Asia, Indonesia is very often one of the first countries they
look at. At least 5 percent of the population in the Netherlands
has family relations with Indonesia. Despite the current economic
situation, the number of Dutch companies interested in entering
the market is not yet significantly different from previous
years. They are, however, looking more into local production than
before.
Both the presence and the interests of Dutch business in
Indonesia reflect the structure of the Dutch economy: a large
agribusiness sector with deep specializations and supplying
industries in a wide range of subsectors, a strong cluster of
chemicals and energy-related industries and a strong construction
sector, focused mainly on water infrastructure, a highly
developed financial sector and some specialized environmental
technology companies.
Indonesian-Netherlands Association (INA)
INA, the Indonesian-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, supports
the development of economic ties between Indonesia and the
Netherlands. Information on virtually every company and on many
markets in the Netherlands is available at INA. The Netherlands
is an attractive market in itself, because of the rapidly rising
wealth of its 15 million people and its dynamic and
internationally very open business environment. In 1998 the Dutch
economy grew by 2 percent, and private consumption by almost 4
percent. The Netherlands is also an important starting point and
distribution center for Asian companies entering the European
market. More than 200 million consumers in Europe can be reached
within 24 hours after goods have arrived in the Port of
Rotterdam, the world's busiest port with an annual turnover of
about 300 million metric tons, or Amsterdam Airport Schiphol,
Europe's fourth largest airport. The Port of Rotterdam handles
all kinds of cargo and food. INA helps about 200 Indonesian
companies each year to do business in the Netherlands. A lot of
information is available at the INA and INA helps establish
contacts in the Netherlands.
INA has a number of support facilities for Indonesian-Dutch
cooperation. The two most important of these are:
* Through the Indonestec facility, joint technological research
of Indonesia and Dutch companies is strongly subsidized. In 1997,
some successful cooperation projects were started between
Indonesian and Dutch companies. Production facilities were
modernized with the help of the Indonestec scheme. In another
project, a technology was developed to make vegetable crops more
resistant against diseases.
* The NMCP-program makes experienced (retired) Dutch managers
available at very low cost to Indonesian companies, to assist
them in developing and implementing new production systems, or
other kinds of companies throughout Indonesia to provide a very
broad range of support. Currently, an export from the Netherlands
is in the INA office to advise Indonesian companies in their
exports to Europe.
And there are many other subsidized facilities available to
support almost all aspects of Indonesian-Netherlands business,
ranging from company-matching and feasibility studies to even-
equity capital.