Businesspeople hope floods do not affect investment

Hundreds of businesspeople in Karawang, West Java, have expressed hope that investors are not discouraged by the floods that have hit the regency from March.

“The condition in Karawang is not as bad as that reported in the media,” Bahusin Emin, adviser of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) of the Karawang chapter, said Sunday.

“Only a small sector of industries have been affected by the floods, especially those located outside the industrial zone.”

According to West Java Apindo, the floods have incurred a loss of up to Rp 15 billion (US$150,000)
per day.

The floods, caused by the overflow of Citarum River, were reported to have inundated more than 15,000 houses in 10 districts, displacing around 30,000 people.

Around 800 hectares of rice fields were also affected.

Karawang, about 100 kilometers west of Jakarta, is home to around 300 companies, 200 of which are large-scale and located in the industrial zone.

“Some are [joint ventures involving] Japan, South Korea and Taiwan,” he said.

“Only one company was engulfed by the floods. It is located near Citarum River. The others have not been affected yet,” he said.

The floods restricted employees from traveling to their workplaces as roads were submerged.

Bahusin guaranteed they were entitled to payment because the floods were categorized as a natural disaster.

He appealed to the media not to exaggerate reports on financial losses from floods to avert discouraging investment in the regency in the future.

“The textile industry affected by floods in South Bandung may have suffered billions of rupiah in losses, but not industries in Karawang,” said Bahusin.

He was confident about 1,000 companies in total, as expected in 1995, would invest in Karawang over the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, West Java Apindo chairman Deddy Widjaya said the companies incurred up to Rp 500 million a day in losses, with a total of Rp 150 billion estimated for the 10 days of flooding.

“Around 30 medium- and large-scale industries are losing up to Rp 500 million daily,” Deddy said.

Deddy said with the incident having no precedence in the past, businesspeople in Karawang — largely running automotive and electronics industries — had not employed preemptive measures.

“Some have ceased operation because machines broke down and employees could not attend work,” he said.

Separately, West Java Manpower and Transmigration chief Mustopha Djamaluddin said his office had not received reports on industries resorting to layoffs in Karawang.

“The layoff issue is a complex matter because it must go through procedures that have been mandated by the manpower law,” he said.