Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and Semarang Regent Mudjirin took part in a ceremony to mark the shipment of the buses, held at the company’s factory in Semarang, Central Java, on Friday.

“What’s exciting is that these [buses] are going to be exported. With a new design created by one of our own people, these buses have already been exported to several countries,” Ganjar said.

Laksana, which exported about 200 executive and double-decker buses to Fiji and Timor Leste in 2019, plans to export similar buses to the Philippines and Thailand as well.

The government’s incentive of offering tax waivers for imported materials for export-oriented goods (KITE) — which exempted those materials from value-added tax (VAT), luxury goods tax (PPnBM) and excise fees — has significantly helped companies such as Laksana in exporting their products overseas, Ganjar said, adding that such incentives made his company’s buses more competitive in such countries as Bangladesh, Fiji and Timor Leste.

 “The process of obtaining [incentives] is faster; it took one hour [and] and everything was done.”

Ganjar said he was happy the central government’s initiative to provide incentives was helpful for local companies.

“I want the President and the finance minister to know that here in Central Java, we have already taken advantage of the incentives given by the government. We’ve already enjoyed the benefits; this is one of them.”

Ganjar emphasized that the government would fully support the advancement of businesses, especially those focusing on exports, adding that he would help market Central Java’s products to other countries.

“I will help. I can call ambassadors from prospective countries to help market these products. These [products] are exemplary, grand and no less competitive than other foreign products.”

He added that the reason behind his support was in his opinion, export was one of the ways to accelerate economic growth in Central Java, especially as he had targeted Central Java’s economy to expand by 7 percent by 2023.

According to the Central Java office of Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Central Java’s economy grew 5.41 percent in 2019, a slight improvement from the 5.31 percent recorded in 2018 and slightly better than Indonesia’s economic growth of 5.02 percent last year. (ydp)