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Management Guru foresees stronger RI economy
How does a management guru see Indonesia? A country with abundant resources that will have a stronger economy in the coming years
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How does a management guru see Indonesia? A country with abundant resources that will have a stronger economy in the coming years.
Unfortunately, a lack of promotion may slow the pace of the economy, which needs more investment to develop its lagging infrastructure. Kenichi Ohmae, who according to influential magazine The Economist is a top management guru, said this during his visit to Jakarta last week.
Ohmae brought with him a team of 40 executives from the Japanese corporate group Koken-Kai to study the latest business and economic trends. They were presented with Indonesian economic prospects by Standard Chartered Bank, which has operated here for 146 years.
“I noticed the potential of Indonesia a few years ago. That’s part of the reason I brought my fellow colleagues here,” he said. “I think it’s a mistake for Japan not to pay attention to the domestic market of Indonesia.”
Japan should “change the pace of investing in Indonesia”, said Ohmae, who said he created the term BRIIC, which includes Indonesia on a par with the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Indeed, Indonesia is among the few countries that have managed to achieve robust growth this year despite continuing negative impacts of the global economic downturn. Indonesia had 4.2 percent growth in the first half this year, according to official figures from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
Ohmae said Indonesia had yet to send more major business delegations to Japan in a bid to attract investment from Japanese businesses, compared to more vigorous promotion by China and Vietnam. “Of about 220 cities in China, they [business delegations] all come to Japan.”
He said Japanese businesses should focus on producing consumer goods in Indonesia. “Consumers here are very hungry for good services and good products.”
He also pointed out that Indonesia needed to improve its infrastructure to attract more investment to support growth.
Ohmae, who some refer to as “Mr. Strategy”, said Indonesia’s advantage was its large and young population of about 230 million people.
According to BPS, Indonesia’s economy is about 70 percent propelled by private consumption and government spending.
“That has cushioned us from the impacts of the global crisis,” said Eric Sugandi, an economist at the Standard Chartered Bank.
Indonesia’s economy is estimated to have expanded 4.3 percent this year, and is predicted to perform better rising to 5.5 percent by next year as the global economy begins recovery, the Finance Ministry said.
Indonesia may play a greater part in the global economy as world leaders have announced the Group of 20 (G20) nations is replacing the G8 as the main forum for global economic coordination, which reflects a shift in power from rich countries to emerging markets.
The G20 accounts for about 85 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), more than the G8, which covers about half of the global GDP, according to Bloomberg.
Mirza Adityaswara, an economist at Bank Mandiri, gave his congratulations now Indonesia could play a bigger role in the global economy.
“The anticorruption movement is one of the necessary foundations for Indonesia to be successful in becoming a developed country by 2025 ... We believe and hope the President understands about this,” he said, referring to the controversy raised due to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s move to directly nominate Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) interim leaders, which critics said might weaken the KPK.
