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IPC asks govt to allow dollar transactions
State-owned port operator Pelindo II, also known as the Indonesia Port Corporation (IPC), has requested the coordinating economic minister to review its instruction obliging seaports to cease the use of US dollars in transactions with customers
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tate-owned port operator Pelindo II, also known as the Indonesia Port Corporation (IPC), has requested the coordinating economic minister to review its instruction obliging seaports to cease the use of US dollars in transactions with customers.
Pelindo II president director RJ Lino said Monday that ceasing the use of the greenback in seaports would only create difficulties in the firm's transactions with foreign shipping companies.
'I have asked the minister to review the policy because from a legal aspect, we should have been allowed to use dollars because these are categorized as international transactions,' Lino told reporters on the sidelines of a coordinating meeting at the Finance Ministry on Monday. 'It will definitely reduce foreign investors' interest to invest in seaports, because this policy will increase their investment risk,' he continued.
According to Pelindo II, 30 to 35 percent of transactions at its ports are carried out in US dollars, mostly related to exports and imports, while all domestic transactions are conducted in rupiah.
During a visit to Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta early this month, Coordinating Economic Minister Chairul Tanjung said that his office would give Pelindo II three months to start charging in rupiah for services instead of the US currency.
Chairul said that a lot of seaports remained unaware of the 2011 Currency Law, which stipulates that all domestic transactions should be carried out in rupiah, due to a lack of information dissemination.
