Indonesia Today Vol. X no. 03 February 01, 2007 Индонезия Сегодня
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Economic Issues
AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-INDUSTRY TO BE KEY SECTORS IN DEVELOPING IMT-GT: PRESIDENT SAYS
Mactan, Philippines - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono acting as chairman of the 2nd summit of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) underlined the importance of developing agriculture and agro industry sectors to promote subregional cooperation which was started in 1993.
"The success of IMT-GT to increase their peoples' welfare relies on pushing their agriculture and agro-industry sectors as the main factors in the sub-regional cooperation," the president said here Friday (Jan 12).
According to him, if the 27 provinces in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand included in the cooperation had been connected, trade among them would developed.
Tourist visits would increase and the economic life would be more dynamic if backed by better human resources, he added.
"In this context, we must standardize our regulations on customs, immigration, quarantine and security," the head of state said.
To further push trade relations among the busniess sectors under the cooperation, Yudhoyono said cooperation and coordination among the governments and private sectors were absolutely necessary.
"Therefore I am happly to learn that the governors and private sectors from the regions held dialogs in Selangor last September," he said
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INDONESIA'S EXPORTS OF BUILT-UP CARS INCREASE BY 70 PCT
Jakarta - Indonesia's exports of completely built-up (CBU) cars in 2006 increased by 70 percent to 30 thousand units from 17 thousand units in 2005, Director General for Telematics and Transportation Equipment Industries, Budi Darmadi, said here on Monday (Jan 15).
He said that the increase in the car exports was a consequence of the drastic drop in the domestic market by about 40.9 percent as the result of the fuel oil price hike in October 2005.
"There is a blessing in disguise in the drop in the domestic market. Our exports increased and we should continue to maintain this trend," he said.
He said that in 2006 the domestic market absorbed 315 thousand units, down compared to 530 thousand units in 2005.
The director general expressed optimism that this year the sale of cars at home would reach 400 thousand units and exports 40 thousand units.
"Our per capita income has increased while bank interest rates have been lowered. This would boost car sales at home," he added.
He said that Indonesia's exports would also increase because exporters had won new markets particularly in African and Latin American countries.
The director general also said that Toyota Innova, Avanza, Fortuner and Suzuki APV cars were among Indonesia's primary export cars.
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RO SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EU MARKET
Jakarta - Indonesia should be able to take advantage of the European Union market potentials for its products particularly after Bulgaria and Romania had been admitted into the regional grouping on January 1, a diplomat said.
"The good market potentials are also indicated by the relatively high economic growth in the new members which may eventually boost economic growth in the EU," Indonesian Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union Nadjib Riphat Kesoema said when contacted by phone from Jakarta on Tuesday (Jan 16).
He added that with the increasing growth, their imports from the developing countries, including Indonesia, were expected to increase, provided the country took advantage of the opportunity.
The European Union is one of Indonesia`s leading trade partners and in the past few years trade between the two sides had increased significantly.
Indonesia enjoyed a surplus in its trade with the EU in 2003 (6.183 billion Euro), in 2004 (5.548 billion Euro) and in 2005 (5.985 billion Euro).
Data from the Indonesian Embassy as quoted by Eurostat said Indonesian exports to the European Union in 2003 reached 10.405 billion Euro but declined to 10.39 billion Euro in 2004 and further down to 10.739 billion Euro in 2005.
Meanwhile, Indonesia`s imports from the European Union in 2003 reached 4.222 billion Euro, and increased to 4.791 billion Euro in 2004, but declined to 4.754 billion in 2005.
Indonesia`s imports from the EU included furniture, footwear, vegetable oils and data processing apparatuses, and its exports to that part of the world include palm oil, coffee, cocoa, tea, rubber, shrimp, tuna and crackers.
Indonesia has yet to be one of the European Union`s main trading partners as Indonesian imports were still relatively low, accounting only for 1.0 percent of the total imports from the EU in 2004.
However, Indonesia is one of the three countries enjoying customs exemption under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) granted to 178 developing countries. (*)
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IMF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO VISIT INDONESIA
Jakarta - The executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Rodrigo de Rato, will come to Indonesia on January 23 and 24 to meet with government officials as well as private business people and parliament members.
"He wants to hear how Indonesia sees future economic challenges and how the IMF might possibly help," IMF representative in Indonesia, Steven Schwartz, said here on Thursday (Jan 18).
He said no talks about new loans were on the agenda.
Steven said "we saw that Indonesia has been on the right track. In terms of government policies, their aim and agenda have already been right. Indonesia's economy is now much stronger," he said.
Steven said Rodrigo, who would be accompanied by IMF's director of the Asia Pacific Department David Burton, would also discuss regional issues that could affect the economic situation in Asia during the visit.
"He would also explain reform efforts that are currently being made in the IMF," he said.
This would be the first visit by Rodrigo to Indonesia after visiting tsunami survivors in Aceh in 2004.
Besides Indonesia Rodrigo will also visit Japan and China. He will visit Japan on January 21-22 to participate in a symposium sponsored by the Bank of Japan and the Monetary Cooperation Center in Asia. While in Japan he would meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Rodrigo will come to China on January 25-26 to meet its government officials.
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FOREIGN INVESTORS BEGIN EYEING RI AS INVESTMENT DESTINATION: BI GOVERNOR
Jakarta - Foreign investors have began eyeing Indonesia as an investment destination besides China, India and Vietnam thanks to its increasingly stable economic and political conditions, Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah said.
"I think that the investment climate, political stability and macro economic conditions are getting better," he said on Friday.
Foreign investors would only invest in a country which offered more favorable opportunities, he said.
"I think Indonesia is one of the nations that must be taken into account thanks to its increasingly stable conditions," he said.
"Therefore, I am optimistic that the engine of economic growth in 2007 will be not only the government, the banking sector and exports but also foreign investment," he said.
Lack of legal certainty remains a major obstacle to attracting investments into the country.
In the January-November period of 2006 foreign investment fell by 45.91 percent from a year earlier.
Burhanuddin further said to enable domestic banks to carry out their intermediary function they needed to reduce credit risks and increase credit access.
"Why does the intermediary function not work? This is not because of liquidity shortages but because of their failure to reduce credit risks and increase credit access," he said.
He said the problem currently facing the banking sector was overhanging liquidity funds which reach more than Rp200 trillion. On the other hand, the real sector was in dire need of funds to run their business.
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VP HOPES S KALIMANTAN BECOMES CENTER FOR NATIONAL STEEL INDUSTRY
Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan - Vice President Jusuf Kalla has expressed hope that South Kalimantan which is rich in natural resources could be developed into a national steel industry center.
The vice president made the remarks at the anauguration of the Banjar traders forum here on Tuesday (Jan 23).
On the occasion, the Vice President asked Irvan Kamal, project manager for the strategic development of PT Krakatau Steel (the state-run steel industry) to expose PT Krakatau Steel expansion plan in South Kalimantan.
Irvan said, the first corner stone PT Krakatau Steel (PT KS-II) expansion project is expected to be laid in June 2007.
Jusuf Kalla also hoped that the presence of PT KS-II will accelerate the existence of down-stream steel industries conducted by the Banjar traders.
The Banjar traders should also be able to produce supporting spareparts (components) for the steel industries.
The Vice President urged the Banjar traders to revive, meaning that they must work hard to be become businessmen in the region.
Irvan said, his company will complete PT KS-II feasibility study in the middle of February, 2007.
One of nine districts in South Kalimantan, including three most potential namely Tanah Bumbu, Kotabaru and Tanah Laut, will be selected to become the plant site of PT KS-II, Irvan said.
The district which will be used as the plant site of PT KS-II should have raw material deposit for steel industries for not less than 20 years, Irvan said, adding that the construction for the new steel company would take about 16 months.
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RI NOT TO SEEK ANY NEW LOANS FROM IMF
Jakarta - The Indonesian government will not seek to obtain new loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the country's balance of payments is in sound condition, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Boediono said here Wednesday (Jan 14).
"We have no plan (to ask for new loans from IMF). We only recently repaid all our debts to IMF. There has been no discussion with the president on seeking new loans," he said following a meeting between IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"Neither have they (IMF) offered any new loans or made any new loan commitment," Boediono said.
Speaking on the same occasion, Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah said Indonesia may ask for a new IMF loan if its balance of payments was not sound.
"Our balance of payments is in a surplus so we don't need any IMF loan," he said.
Boediono said de Rato was visiting Indonesia as a courtesy and to have a chance to get first-hand information on currrent conditions of the Indonesian economy as well as to exchange views on global economic conditions with the Indonesian president.
At his meeting with de Rato, Yudhoyono suggested that IMF determine a country's borrowing quota not based on the country's foreign exchange reserves but on its economic openness and regional role.
De Rato told Yudhoyono that the latter's idea would be taken into account when the financial lender determines a country's borrowing quota.
The IMF official also said what the Indonesian government had done so far had created stability in the macro-economic sector.
He hoped Indonesia would further focus its economic growth on capacity building.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and National Development Planning Minister Paskah Suzetta were also present at the meeting.
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RI TO CEASE SEEKING FINANCIAL AID THROUGH CGI
Jakarta - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here Wednesday (Jan 24) Indonesia would cease to seek financial assistance through the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) this year as it no longer needed the aid.
"I think it is necessary to terminate the CGI forum this year. I hereby state we no longer need the CGI," the president told newsmen on the premises of the presidential palace.
He said Indonesia had taken the decision because it was now able to overcome its foreign debt problems without the involvement of CGI.
"It is important for us to be more independent and to develop our independence in the planning and implementation of development," the president said.
The CGI was established by the Indonesian government and the World Bank to coordinate the provision of financial assistance from donor countries to Indonesia.
He said with the dissolution of the CGI, Indonesia had to cautiously and properly draw up its development budgets in order not to reduce the quality of its planning and development.
Asked about his meeting with IMF (International Monetary Fund) Executive Director Rodrigo de Rato, the president said the IMF executive had not come to Indonesia to offer new loans. "The government is no longer thinking of obtaining loans from the IMF and other institutions," he said.
"We have to start reducing our external loans to make our budget more healthy and to bring our debt-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ratio back to the normal level," he said.
Established in 1992, the CGI is a consortium of countries and institutions providing loans to Indonesia. It was formed to replace the Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI).
CGI membership is made up of 30 bilateral and multilateral creditors, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and industrialized countries such as Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. It also includes Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, , South Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzeland.
Other international lending orgnizations in CGI are the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment, the European Commission, the International Finance Corporation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Nordic Investment Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, the Saudi Fund for Development, the United Nations Children's Fund and the United Nations Development Program.
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NATIONAL FISHERY PRODUCTION PROJECTED AT 4.9 MILLION TONS IN 2007
Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Fishery and Marine Resources has projected the national fishery production to reach 4.9 million tons, a 3.6 pct increase compared to that in last year's corresponding period, a spokesman said.
Husni Mangga Barani, director general at the ministry said here Wednesday (Jan 24) that the marine and fishery products contributed 4.63 million tons and inland fishery products 305,650 tons.
Though the increase in fuel oil prices in October 2006 was still the main problem in the sector, provisional statistics in 2006 still showed an upward trend of the national fishery production, he added.
"Therefore we still project the national fishery production in 2007 to reach 4.9 million tons," he said.
Husni also said the 2006 national fishery production was expected to reach 4.76 million tons to which marine fishery production contributes 4.4 million tons and inland fishery products 301,150 tons.
The national fishery production in 2006 increased by 1.34 pct compared to that in last year's corresponding period a year reaching 4.70 million tons. In total, the national fishery production including from fish ponds rose by 7.39 million tons or increase by 7.6 pct compared to the same period a year earlier reaching 6.86 million tons.
Meanwhile the sector is expected to absorb 2.66 million workers in 2007, an increase by 2.5 pct compared to that in last year's corresponding period reaching 2.60 million tons.
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FDI DROPS BY 32.2 PCT IN 2006
Jakarta - Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the January to December 2006 period dropped by 32.9 pct to US$5.977 billion from US$8.915 billion in 2005.
Data from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) made available to ANTARA here Wednesday (Jan 24) said that the number of projects in 2006 also declined to 867 from 909 in the same period last year.
Meanwhile domestic investment in 2006 dropped by 32.2 pct to Rp20.788 trillion from Rp30.665 trillion in the corresponding period a year earlier. The number of projects dropped by 24.4 pct to 164 from 214.
In total, foreign investment had provided jobs for 206,945 workers, higher than those in last year's corresponding period reaching 156.109, according to the data.
However, the number of workers absorbed in domestic investment in 2006 dropped to 79.415 from 122.750 in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Other parts of the BKPM report showed that FDI approvals rose by 15.1 pct to US$15,624 billion compared to the same period last year (US$13.579 billion), with domestic investment approvals alone increasing by 221.8 pct to Rp 162.767 trillion from Rp50.577 trilllion in the same period last year.
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INVESTMENT IN CEMENT INDUSTRY IN 2007 ABOUT US$1.4 BILLION
Banda Aceh, NAD - Total investment in cement industry in 2007 reaches about US$ 1.4 billion, head of the National Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Muhammad Lutfi said.
Lutfi made the remarks here on Thursday during his visit to the capital city of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), the westernmost province of Indonesia.
The investment was among others for the development of Siam Cement plant (PT Semen Jawa) amounting US$100 million with a capacity of one million ton and PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk's palnt in Tuban (East Java) with the designed capacity of 1.5 million tons, he said, adding that PT Semen Gresik would also realise its expansion program.
In addition, Orascom and Cemex would also build medium-sized factories respectively in East and South Kalimantan provinces, he said on the sidelines of inauguration of a cement factory of PT Lafarge Semen Andalas Indonesia (SAI) in Lhok Nga village, Aceh Besar district.
Tsunami devastated this area in December 2004.
According to him, with the investment of US$ 1.4, the designed capacity of national cement production would rise by some 6 million tons from 46 million to 52 million tons.
PT Semen Jawa and Orascom have been conducting the Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) he said, citing that it will likely take a long time because the Amdal will also cover other aspects including the pollution problem.
Lutfi said, in the first semester of 2005, the growth of national cement consumption rose up to 10 percent compared with the previous year, causing price disparity between Indonesia and Malaysia nearly US$30 per ton.
"Thus, businessmen come to Indonesia to invest because the cement price is higher," he said.
During 2006, however, the cement consumption only rose 1.6 percent compared with the previous year due to the high interest and the decline of the people's purchasing power following the fuel oil price hike.
"But, the national cement consumption this year could increase from 8 to 10 percent," he noted.
In the meantime, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris expressed hope that new investment for cement industry would come to Indonesia to meet the raising demand.