Govt urged to ban foreign investment in rubber processing industry

The Union of Indonesian Rubber Companies (Gapkindo) is asking the government to ban foreign investment in the rubber processing industry in the country, a spokesman said.

"There is no reason to allow foreign investment in the rubber processing industry because the required technology is not difficult and Indonesia already masters it," Gapkindo chairman Daud Husni Bastari said here on Thursday.

The installed capacity of the rubber industry in the country has reached one million tons per year, while raw meterial available is about 2.4 million tons per year. In fact, the need is about 3.4 million tons per year.

According to him, the productivity of Indonesian land for rubber trees is only 1,000 kilogram per hectare annually, while India is able to produce 1,900 kilogram per hectare annually.

"Indonesia`s production should be raised to at least 1,500 kilogram per hectare per year. Therefore, production of seeds should also be increased," he said.

At present, he added, 85 percent of raw materials needed by the rubber industry was supplied by people`s plantations, the acreage of which was about 3.5 million hectare throughout the country.

Some countries were keen on investing the rubber industry with a mininum investment of Rp60 million. Among the interested countries were China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Gapkindo itself had no production target but its production was increasing by four to five percent per year, he said.

source: Antara | July 2008

ArcelorMittal akan bangun pabrik baja di Pasuruan dan Banten

Keinginan ArcelorMittal berinvestasi di Indonesia tidak pernah redup. Setelah sebelumnya gencar mengincar Krakatau Steel, kini pabrik baja dunia itu sudah minta izin mendirikan pabrik di Pasuruan dan Banten.

"ArcelorMittal telah meminta kepada kami, berdiskusi pada kami untuk membuka dua steel mill atau dua pabrik baja di Pasuruan dan Banten, tetapi mereka belum memasukkan aplikasi untuk tujuan penanaman modal," kata Ketua Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal (BKPM) M Lutfi dalam rapat dengan Komisi VI DPR, di gedung DPR/MPR, Senayan, Jakarta, Senin (14/7/2008).

Pemerintah sendiri kemungkinan akan memberikan lampu hijau, karena investasi di sektor ini menurut Lutfi adalah investasi yang terbuka dan tidak masuk dalam daftar negatif investasi (DNI).

"Maka ketika mereka nanti memasukkan aplikasi, pada waktu yang tidak terlalu lama sekitar 4 hari kami akan mengeluarkan izin untuk mereka berinvestasi," katanya.

Menurut Lutfi, pihak ArcelorMittal sudah membebaskan tanah seluas 100 hektar di Pasuruan. "Mereka juga sedang mencari tanah di Banten untuk memperluas kapasitasnya," ujar Lutfi.

Dari investasi ArcelorMittal ini, lanjut Lutfi, setidaknya ada pasokan 4 juta metrik ton baja untuk pasar dalam negeri.

Pemerintah lanjut Lutfi memang akan mempermudah izin investasi, karena harus bersaing dengan Vietnam yang kini menjadi tempat favorit investasi asing.

"Sudah banyak investor baja masuk ke sana misal komitmen Tata Steel di Vietnam dengan investasi US$ 10 miliar sehingga tahun 2011 di Vietnam akan ada produksi baru sebesar 10 juta metrik ton besi. Begitu juga Formosa steel dari Thailand yang berencana menanamkan investasi di Vietnam US$ 7,5 miliar," jelas Lutfi.

source: detik.com | July 2008

RI aims to make ASEAN region a car industry hub

Indonesia aims to lead the charge in making the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) an automotive industry production house, an official says.

"Now that we are the leader of the ASEAN automotive cooperative, we have the chance to shape the industry in the region," Edy Putra Irawady, a deputy to the minister for industry and trade, said Saturday in Jakarta during the 3rd Indonesia International Automotive Conference.

The cooperative set up in 2002 is hoped to make the ASEAN region a unified automotive industry production hub to strengthen the competitiveness of regional auto suppliers and build the ASEAN-made brand and automotive parts.

Four main supplying countries are the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Only Malaysia has its own national car, while others produce for overseas brands.

Thailand and Indonesia host similar production centers for Toyota, Honda, BMW, Nissan, Ford and Suzuki.

In the cooperative, Indonesia also aims to develop component production for luxury cars, full production for cars with engine capacity under 1500 cc and car accessories, while other ASEAN member countries will produce other products.

"Basically it depends on Gaikindo (the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association) to develop a strategy for Indonesia. The government has given the guidelines; that is, industry activities that absorb a lot of manpower and are consumed widely -- basically not (only) luxury car production," he said.

However, he suggested the ASEAN-made brand should contain at least 40 percent of local elements of each consuming country.

"The goods are for local consumption, so we demand more local production content. Things that are already made in Indonesia cannot be imported, for instance," he said.

The position as the cooperative coordinator could also help Indonesia grow its local industries.

He said the bilateral trade agreements currently in effect with Japan, one of the main decision makers of the automotive industry in the region, would increase the production capacity in Indonesia.

Indonesia's large population has become a major car market in the ASEAN region. In 2008, vehicle sales are expected to top 500,000 units and production 520,000 units.

Budi Darmadi, the director general for the Industry of Transportation Equipment and Information Communication Technology said the government predicted an annual production of 1 million units by 2011.

source: Jakarta Post | July 2008

Indonesia company begins exporting fire trucks

Indonesian company PT New Sentosa here Tuesday conducted a maiden shipment of 4 fire trucks to Tanzania in a ceremony attended also by Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu.

The shipment was part of a US$640,000 order for 15 fire trucks from the African country, the minister said after the ceremony.

PT New Sentosa also had a contract to export Euro 1.1 million worth of fire trucks to Sudan, she said.

The Indonesian company won the contracts during an exhibition titled "Rebuild Project in Iraq" held in Amman, Jordan, on May 5-8, 2008.

Besides with Tanzania and Sudan, PT New Sentosa which exports its fire trucks bearing the trade mark "New Sentosa International", had also signed contracts with Nigera, Ghana and Vietnam, according to the minister.

Meanwhile, PT New Sentosa Internantional Director Bambang E. Santosa said his company`s products had a 70-percent local content.

"The price of our product is 10-15 percent lower than other products with the same qualifications," he said.

He said his company would also explore markets in Myanmar, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

PT New Sentoas was facing little domestic or foreign competition to its fire truck production activity "so the opportunities for us to widen our markets at home and abroad are wide open," he said.

The company`s fire truck production capacity now was 40 units per year, he added.

source: Antara | 24 June 2008