United States industries are looking for raw materials from new countries because of the high tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.
publicly listed chemical company, PT Lautan Luas Tbk. (LTLS), says it hopes it would be able to take advantage of the escalation of a trade war between the United States and China to boost its exports, especially to the US.
The increase of import tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese goods would encourage American companies to source raw materials from other countries. This would offer an opportunity for Lautan Luas and other similar companies from other emerging countries to boost their exports.
"With the higher import tariffs on Chinese goods, the United States will look for another sources of goods from other countries, one of which is Southeast Asia and specifically Indonesia,” the company’s operational director, Herman Santoso, said on Thursday following the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
In the meeting, the shareholders agreed to allocate 30 percent of last year’s net profits for dividends.
Lautan Luas, a major integrated chemical company, has 17 manufacturing facilities, which include 14 factories in Indonesia, two in China and one other in Vietnam.
The high tariffs imposed by the US had dealt a major blow to the company’s operations in China, as they make its chemical products too expensive for US industries, he said. Only about 20 percent of the company’s production is exported.
Herman Santoso said that the company’s revenues were projected to increase by about 10 percent to about Rp 8 trillion (US$559.44 million) this year.
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.