Ailing US views growing Indonesia as safe

After a two-day visit, a trade delegation of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) has discovered that a growing Indonesia could be a safe place for investment in the midst of the global recession.

The Singapore chapter of AmCham organized a trade delegation, comprising 31 business leaders from more than 20 US companies, to visit Indonesia to meet government and business representatives on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The vice chairman of the board of governors of AmCham Singapore, Colin Low, said that Indonesia’s experience in maintaining economic growth during the 2008 crisis, and the likelihood of its being unaffected by the current global downturn caused by the European debt crisis and slow US growth, made Indonesia one of the safer places for investment.

“When I look to put money, assets and investment, I look for safe places. I think you’re internally protected because, as I’ve just learned, 70 percent of your economy is internally driven,” he said.

Low was speaking on the sidelines of a press briefing on the trade mission on Wednesday evening

The delegation met some high-ranking officials, including Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu and the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chief Gita Wirjawan.

US Ambassador to Singapore David I Adelman, who led the delegation, said that the trade mission was important for his country which was struggling to restore its economic growth.

“American commercial success in Asia is linked to our economic recovery. And success in Indonesia is central to our greater success, not only trade but also investment,” Adelman told journalists at the briefing.

Low also said that the mission had fulfilled its objective of learning about the Indonesian economy and how it was ready for more investment.

“When I say ready, the government recognizes what it needs to do; it has got a master plan to build the infrastructure. But it also recognizes its weakness. It’s very realistic, it’s very practical,” Low said, referring to the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesian Economic Growth (MP3EI).

He also cited AmCham Singapore’s ASEAN Business Outlook survey released in September that found that, at 72 percent, Indonesia was the most popular regional destination into which US companies wanted to
expand.

Delegate member Sidharth Mande, Caterpillar director for corporate affairs for India and ASEAN, said that he was impressed by the Indonesian officials’ consistency in promoting the country.

“They are consistently talking about the same things; what the focus is, what they want as a development plan for Indonesia, what their anticipations and expectations are of outside investors,” Mande said.

US Ambassador to Jakarta Scot Marciel affirmed that the US slow economic growth would not influence bilateral trade relations.

“The US economy is still by far the largest economy in the world. This is not the first time in our history that we have had a slow period. We don’t have trouble finding people who want to work with us, even though the US economy only grew 1 percent in the first half of the year,” he said.

He pointed out that Indonesia’s exports to the US rose more than 20 percent while US exports to Indonesia grew by 17 percent in the first half of this year, despite the slowdown.

Figures from the Trade Ministry showed that Indonesia’s total exports to the US in the first half of 2011 reached US$8.36 billion, a rise of 25.96 percent on the $6.64 billion in the same period in 2010. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s imports
from the US reached $4.28 billion a rise of 19.28 percent from $5.08 billion in 2010.

“There is a lot of momentum and we think this visit will add to that momentum and create more opportunities for business, meaning more jobs for both Indonesia and America,” Marciel said.

The visiting companies were Aviationlearn; Becton Dickinson; Brink’s Singapore; Caterpillar; Cognita Asia Holdings; Control Risks; Diageo; Fragomen; Insight interAsia Pte Ltd, Int’l Flavors & Fragrances; John Deere; Johnson & Johnson Medical; Jones Day; Kraft Foods; Mancano and Associates; Medtronic Asia; Omnicom Group;Otis Elevator Co; PT Procter & Gamble; Rajah & Tam LLP; Ramco Sytems; Singapore Investment Development Corporation; SunGard Asia Pacific; United Laboratories; United Technologies International Operations and Yahoo Southeast Asia. (rcf)