RI to hold expo in Beijing in late August

RI to hold expo in Beijing in late August

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Trade and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (Kadin) are slated to hold the second Indonesia Solo
Exhibition in Beijing, as part of the government's move to triple
bilateral trade to US$30 billion over five years.

"The exhibition will not only promote trade but simultaneously
investment opportunities and tourism," Minister of Trade Mari E.
Pangestu said at a media conference on Thursday.

The minister said the exhibition would be a follow up to a
commitment between Chinese President Hu Jintao and President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to strengthen bilateral trade during the
latter's visit to China last month.

Mari went on to say that the exhibition was expected to book
transactions totaling $20 million, compared to last year's $14
million, and attract Chinese investors to enter Indonesia's
infrastructure; oil, gas and mining; and agriculture and fishery
sectors.

The exhibition will take place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3 at Hall
9, China International Exhibition Center, with the theme "Synergy
between two nations: tracing the past ... developing the future".

On the sidelines of the event, the organizers will also
commemorate 55 years of diplomatic relations between the two
countries, 20 years of the reopening of bilateral trade relations
and the 600th anniversary of Adm. Zheng He's initial voyage to
Indonesia.

"We will hold events to show that the two countries share a
long history and use the side events to introduce our culture to
eventually promote tourism," Mari said.

According to the minister's expert advisor on export
development, Rhenald Kasali, the exhibition will have 153 booths
in a 4,160-square-meter area housing 64 firms comprising 15 state
companies, 13 provincial administrations and 36 private small,
medium and large firms.

"The organizers accommodated small and medium enterprises to
get free booths in the event. We chose only SMEs with quality
products," said Rhenald, who is a prominent marketing expert.

The organizers expect 5,000 businesspeople to visit the five-
day event and 20,000 members of the public.

Ahead of Thursday's media conference, the trade minister and
Kadin chairman Mohamad S. Hidayat signed a memorandum of
understanding to strengthen government-private sector cooperation
in promoting Indonesia overseas.

"Now is the time for the private sector to take the lead,
which the government will facilitate and support. The government
should no longer decide what industry players should do," Mari
said.

China is Indonesia's fourth biggest export destination. Last
year's total bilateral trade amounted to over US$8.7 billion,
with annual growth of 18.6 percent in the last five years.

In the first three months of the year, total trade reached
$2.7 billion, up 43.4 percent from the corresponding period last
year.

Total investment approval from China skyrocketed 25-fold from
$282 million in 1999 to $6.8 billion in July 2003.