SBA -- a meeting place for Swedish companies in Indonesia

SBA -- a meeting place for Swedish companies in Indonesia

Swedish business has a long history in Indonesia.

Ericsson, the worldwide telecom giant, established an office
in Jakarta over 90 years ago.

They have since been joined by many others and today all major
Swedish companies are represented in Indonesia.

In 1999, representatives of the Swedish companies, like so
many other national business groups, formed an association, SBA
or the Swedish Business Association, which is currently chaired
by Per Brandt.

Brandt is also the president director of PT Perstorp Bumi
Raya, a joint-venture company producing raw plastic material in
Indonesia. He has worked in Indonesia for seven-and-a-half years
and knows the language and the culture of Indonesia quite well.

The following is his view of SBA's activities in Indonesia.

What is the purpose of SBA?

The main idea of SBA is to function as a meeting-ground for
Swedish companies with activities in Indonesia. We can get
together and exchange experiences and ideas about business,
investments and the like here in Indonesia.

We also strive to have continuous relations with the
Indonesian authorities as well as the Swedish authorities
represented in Jakarta, i.e. the embassy and the Swedish Trade
Council.

What kind of activities does SBA have?

Well, we have regular meetings where we, in a relaxed
atmosphere, come together and exchange views and opinions about
the business climate here in Indonesia.

We usually invite a speaker, many times an Indonesian, who
speaks about different topics related to business, economy and
finance. This, I think, is really important for us since it gives
us a better understanding of the country in which we work and
live. We also have a newsletter for our members.

Besides that the embassy and the Swedish Trade Council arrange
lunch meetings for the members of SBA once a month.

There have been many questions about the business environment in
Indonesia since the crisis and especially in the last year. What
is SBA's view of the business climate in Indonesia?

For obvious reasons, it is rather difficult for me to speak on
behalf of all the members of SBA, since they represent a number
of different types of companies. Some are selling products and
those products can vary from pure consumer products to products
directed more toward the production sector of the Indonesian
economy.

And then there are some companies that produce and sell their
products here. So the spectrum of activities is quite broad,
which means that different companies have different experiences
in doing business here.

However, in my own view, there are of course at the present a
lot of questions and worrying signs that need to be clarified in
order for investment to return to Indonesia to the same extent as
a couple of years ago.

For instance, foreign companies wanting to invest in Indonesia
today could face problems in getting foreign bank credits for
their investments. This is due to the fact that many foreign
banks feel that there is too much uncertainty in doing business
in Indonesia. A lot of these insecurities and question marks can
be found in the legal system here in Indonesia, and also in the
frequently expressed fears about what will happen after the
decentralization process is completed.

However, I do not share this rather gloomy view, even if I do
share some of the concerns that a lot of people from the business
community have. I think that there are rather good opportunities
for foreign companies to invest and do business in Indonesia
today. I think it is much easier, concerning the formal
procedures, to invest in Indonesia today compared to a couple of
years ago.

However, what every company should be aware of if they want to
start an operation here, is that it takes a lot of know-how. You
have to know how to do it and this also requires patience and a
knowledge of Indonesian society. Looking at a more long-term
perspective, I think that Indonesia has a lot of possibilities to
attract investors. The business climate is rather good, there is
a lot of potential in different markets and the human capital is
a great resource. I especially think that these possibilities
should attract more Swedish companies to invest in Indonesia.

In what sense do you think that Swedish companies especially
should invest here?

"I have discussed this issue with some of my Swedish
colleagues from other companies here in Indonesia, and we share
the notion that there are many cultural similarities between
Swedes and Indonesians when it comes to issues such as
cooperation and loyalty.

Of course, there are also lots of cultural gaps in, for
example, how Swedish managers and personnel act compared to
Indonesians in similar positions. But you can always find
differences between people, even those living in the same
country. What is important is to try to see the similarities
without disregarding the differences.