Rini plans road shows to restore confidence

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Industry and Trade Rini M. Soewandi is planning road shows to Indonesia's main export markets to restore confidence in Indonesia amid fears that many buyers could stop purchasing from Indonesia following the deadly Bali bomb attack.

It is feared that many buyers might shift orders to other countries should Indonesia's efforts to identify the perpetrators of the bomb attack and to crack down on terrorists fail to satisfy the global community.

"The road shows are aimed to win back foreign buyers' confidence so that they will continue buying from Indonesia. Ibu Rini will explain actions being taken by the government to resolve the Bali tragedy," director general for international affairs at the ministry, Sudar SA, said.

Japan, the United States and Singapore are the country's largest export markets. Top export products include textiles, electronics, footwear, wood products as well as agriculture commodities.

The timetable for the road shows is being arranged.

According to Sudar, thus far the Bali incident had not had a direct impact on the country's exports as most export contracts for the rest of the year had been signed prior to the Bali incident.

"Our focus concerns export orders for next year. We want to minimize the adverse impacts of the Bali incident on our export performance for next year," said Sudar after a meeting with several business associations on Tuesday.

The meeting, which was presided over by Rini, was aimed at seeking input from local association executives concerning solutions to the Bali bombing and to explain to them the actions being taken by the government.

Rini also plans to hold a similar meeting with representatives of foreign buyers here next week.

"During the meeting, Rini urged businesspeople to remain calm and continue their business activities as usual," said Sudar.

Exports from the country have decreased over the past couple of months amid the global economic slowdown.

Aside from consumption, export is the key driver of the country's economic growth amid the lingering economic crisis and the drop in domestic and foreign investments.

Data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) says that from January to August, the country's exports fell to US$37.35 billion from $39.34 billion in the same period last year.

Rini earlier claimed that labor conflicts were one of the major factors causing the dismal export performance because foreign buyers had shifted their orders to other countries due to fears that local exporters could face problems in meeting delivery schedules.

On Monday, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti also held a similar meeting with several foreign and domestic investors.

During the meeting, businesspeople warned the government that it must capture the perpetrators of the Bali bombing and take tougher action against terrorists to restore confidence in doing business in Indonesia. If Indonesia failed, the impact on the country's economy would be enormous, they said.