Textile firms asked to seek Japanese funds
Textile firms asked to seek Japanese funds
JAKARTA (JP): A senior finance official suggested here Saturday that textile companies, now facing difficulties to generate credits with low interest rates from local banks, raise loans from Japan.
The chief of the Ministry of Finance's Agency for Financial and Monetary Analysis, Marzuki Usman, said here Saturday that Japanese financial institutions, including pension funds, are holding a large amount of disposable funds, which may reach 13 trillion yen (US$128 billion).
He told a panel discussion organized by the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Textile Association that Japanese loans are attractive because they carry low interest rates.
Many Indonesian textile companies are currently facing difficulties in getting loans from domestic banks because their industrial activities are viewed as high-risk because of the downward trend of the country's textile exports.
Some textile firms, particularly small ones, have had to close down after the recent increase of raw material prices which could not be passed on to consumers.
Indonesia's textile exports, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, decreased by 6.19 percent to $5.79 billion last year from $6.18 billion in 1993.
Marzuki, who is also the chief commissioner of the Jakarta Stock Exchange, said Indonesian textile companies could use Japanese banks or capital markets to find funds.
But, he said, that securing loans from Japanese banks is rather difficult at present because they are now facing various problems, including an increase in bad loans.
"An alternative is to attract Japanese investors to portfolio investments in shares, bonds and commercial papers," Marzuki said.
He said the Indonesian textile industry could use the branches of Japanese securities firms at the Jakarta Stock Exchange, like Daiwa, Sanyo and Nomura securities companies, to attract Japanese investors in the capital market.
He also suggested that textile companies make more road shows in Japan to introduce their businesses.
Marzuki pointed out that there are still many potential Japanese investors who have little knowledge of Indonesian industries. (04)