Indonesia hopes that the diaspora in Japan can act as the spearhead in strengthening economic relations with Japan using their knowledge and experience, especially those in the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) segments.

PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk. (BNI, with stock code BBNI) took a further step in improving Indonesia's trade relations by holding a webinar event for the Diaspora Trade Talk Series by BNI Tokyo on Wednesday with the theme Ways to Maneuver and Thrive in Japan’s Market.

The webinar invited Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar, Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Heri Akhmadi and BNI president director Royke Tumilaar to provide opening remarks. In addition, there were also speakers in the field of export and import from the Japan External Trade Organization, the Association of Japanese Indonesian Entrepreneurs and the Indonesian Diaspora in Tokyo, and Arumia Co. Ltd, who discussed various issues related to strategies to maneuver and reaccelerate economic performance.

Mahendra said Japan and Indonesia had had a very long relationship in the economic field. Many trade relations and investments between the two directly improve the domestic economy. Nevertheless, there are still many segments of the economy that have not been optimally explored, especially the banking sector as an intermediary function.

“BNI has been providing us with good ideas and full support. Indeed, various strategic collaborations at the global level require very strong support from stakeholders in the banking sector. We hope that this webinar will be able to explore various challenges, as well as business potentials between Indonesia and Japan, and result in business matches in the next one to five years, which will benefit both Indonesia and Japan as strategic trading partners," he added.

Heri, meanwhile, added that Indonesia and Japan’s optimism for the global economic recovery would improve conditions in Indonesia and Japan after the pandemic.

Furthermore, he added, the Indonesian diaspora is a potential spearhead of economic development that had been left untapped by national banks. Many diaspora groups have highly competitive businesses and are able to act as agents for MSME products — Indonesia’s economic strength.

“The BNI branch in Tokyo continues to play an active role in facilitating the development of MSMEs. We hope that the banking support and MSME assistance programs that they offer can propel Indonesian MSMEs into penetrating the international market,” he said.

Royke said that as an agent of development under the assignment of the government to become a global bank, BNI played a proactive role in seeking niches and opportunities to restore and boost Indonesia’s global trade performance.

“We hope that the opportunity given by the Diaspora Trade Talk Series by BNI Tokyo will attract more overseas investors to invest in Indonesia to enhance every economic potential Indonesia has,” he said.

Royke added that Japan was the world’s fourth-largest economic power after China, the United States and Germany. Thus, Indonesia as a strategic partner of Japan has a great opportunity to be involved in the movement and economic cycle of the country, either directly or indirectly.

According to him, the country’s demographic bonus and rapid economic growth are Indonesia’s main capital to penetrate the Japanese market in the future.

"We hope that exporters and business players, including Indonesian MSMEs, can gain additional insights into how to understand the characteristics and business opportunities in the Japanese market," said Royke.

Lending MoU for Japanese diaspora

On this occasion, BNI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for diaspora lending cooperation, conducted by BNI Tokyo general manager Yudhi Zufrial and Arumia Co. Ltd president director Achmad Arifin. This strategic collaboration was also witnessed by Heri, Royke and all the webinar participants from various agencies, exporters and importers in Tokyo and Indonesia.

Royke said the collaboration between BNI, the Indonesian Embassy in Japan, the Foreign Ministry, Japan External Trade Organization, the Indonesian Employers' Association and Arumi Co Limited is a highly beneficial effort to increase trade among the Indonesian diaspora in Japan.

“Of course, this step will not be the last. We will continue to look for other potential collaborations. Of course, we also hope to reap the fruits of more cooperation from the tightly knit relationship between BNI and the diaspora," he said.

Based in Osaka, Arumia Co. Ltd. engages in trading premium quality agricultural and marine bioproducts and processed food from several Indonesian brands, namely Dapur Arumi (bulk seasonings and fruits), Kotakoki (seasoning equipment, mixed seasonings and processed foods), Du-Reamy (durian), Cocoqua (coconut and its derivatives) and Tempe Arumi (Indonesian fermented soybeans).

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