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China promises big investment in Indonesia
Chinese businesses have expressed keen interest in Indonesia’s infrastructure, manufacturing and energy sectors, particularly in power plants, a senior minister has said
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hinese businesses have expressed keen interest in Indonesia’s infrastructure, manufacturing and energy sectors, particularly in power plants, a senior minister has said.
“China will allocate more than US$15 billion [for investment] in the ASEAN region. For Indonesia, this will be prioritized on infrastructure and transportation,” Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said in Jakarta on Monday at the State Palace after a one-hour meeting between Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Chinese Trade Minister Chen Deming.
Hatta also said the Chinese businessmen had given serious attention to the development of Indonesia’s infrastructure especially in the transportation sector.
“We will soon prepare for the master plan, and this will be among the substantial issues discussed by the President and the Chinese Prime Minister during his visit to Indonesia [on April 23-24],” Hatta said.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) criticized the government on Monday for “not being serious enough” in protecting local companies from the possible influx of cheap Chinese products as a result of the full implementation of the free trade agreement between ASEAN and China (ACFTA).
Head of Kadin’s permanent committee on interregional cooperation and regional trade, Franky Sibarani, said the meeting between the Indonesian and Chinese trade delegations in Yogyakarta on Saturday had failed to produce results that could protect local companies that might be seriously hurt by full implementation of the free trade agreement.
The meeting failed to support the request made by Indonesian companies to postpone implementation of zero tariffs on 228 posts under the free trade agreement, he said.
Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu led the Indonesian delegation at the meeting, while her counterpart Chinese Trade Minister Chen Deming led the Chinese delegation.
Acting Kadin chairman Adi Tahir said the postponement of the implementation of the zero tariffs on the 228 posts was needed despite the Chinese government’s promise to help Indonesia improve the competitiveness of Indonesian SMEs.
Apart from the proposed postponement of tariff changes, the organization had also urged China to invest more in Indonesian oil and gas, oleochemicals and garments.
During the meeting, Mari and Deming also signed a document entitled “Agreed Minutes of The Meeting for Further Strengthening Economic and Trade Cooperation”.
“The agreement contains steps the two countries will jointly take to settle problems faced by certain sectors as a result of the implementation of ACFTA,” Mari said, adding the agreement was a response to the Indonesian government over concerns raised by domestic manufacturers on the full implementation of the ACFTA.
Franky also added that he thought the government had made little effort to help domestic businesses fight against competition from Chinese products in particular, even since the Office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy had established a coordinating team to mitigate trade and industry bottlenecks last December.
