'State firms must cooperate with foreign entities'

'State firms must cooperate with foreign entities'

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned plantation firms PT Perkebunan
Nusantara I to XIV will have to establish alliances with foreign
partners in the future if they are to survive international
competition, an official said yesterday.

The head of the sugar, molasses and tobacco division of the
plantation companies' joint marketing office, Jack Laybahas, said
that the alliances will enable the firms to penetrate the
international market and expand their distribution networks.

He said the alliances should be established with companies
located in export markets as well as with their governments.

All cooperation, he said, should be aimed at accommodating the
transfer of technology, the development of human resources and
managerial skills and to expand marketing networks.

Earlier this year, the government restructured the state
plantation firms by merging 26 into 14 entities to boost their
efficiency.

The 14 plantation firms, renamed as PT Perkebunan Nusantara
I-XIV, were established with a paid-up capital of between Rp 300
billion (US$130,434) and Rp 1.7 trillion each.

Laybahas was quoted by a statement issued by the Ministry of
Agriculture yesterday as saying that alliances will help increase
the competitive edge of the commodities produced by the
plantation firms.

He pointed out that engaging in partnerships with foreign
entities will also help ease many complicated procedures such as
licensing, marketing and the provision of raw-material, labor,
technical assistance and other local economic resources.

"Another advantage is that we can anticipate the negative
impacts of globalization, such as dumping practices and piracy.
Alliances will help the partners complement what the others don't
have and change rivalry into cooperation," he said.

The commodities with the potential to be developed under
partnership programs are palm oil, rubber, tea, coffee and cacao.

The transfer of technology for palm oil processing in
particular is now urgently needed, Laybahas added. (pwn)