Taiwanese delegation surveys business opportunities in RI

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A trade delegation from Taiwan made up of more than 30 leading Taiwanese companies is currently in Indonesia to explore business opportunities.

"The Indonesian market has great potential for our well-known mechanical and IT products. We also have electronic equipment for computers and spare parts to offer," said Wang Ching Sui, chairman of the Taipei County Importers and Exporters Chamber of Commerce (TCIECC) in Jakarta on Friday.

Wang said Indonesia's economy had improved significantly during the last few years and it was a good time for Taiwanese companies to once again do businesses here.

He explained that Taiwan needed timber and fuel, especially oil and gas, from Indonesia, which is considered an important supplier of commodities for Taiwan.

"Hopefully after this meeting, we will have a good trading partnership that we must then preserve," Wang said to businesspeople from both Taiwan and Indonesia during a business-to-business meeting in Jakarta.

After visiting Jakarta, the delegation is scheduled to meet with Indonesian companies in Surabaya on June 11, with the TCIECC and the Taiwan Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) to act as facilitators.

Taiwanese companies in the delegation include producers of auto parts, batteries, copper alloys, electronic integrated circuits, filters, hand tools, head lamps, jewelry, magnetic powder, metals, plastic products, snap rings, stainless steel casting and toys.

Indonesian companies participating in the meetings include producers of adhesive tape, chemicals and petrochemicals, food, handicrafts, spare parts and textiles, as well as convention and exhibition companies, financing companies and mining companies.

Before the economic crisis hit Indonesia in 1997, Taiwan was one of Indonesia's biggest foreign investors. In 1997, Taiwan's total investment in Indonesia reached US$3.4 billion.

However, Taiwanese investment in Indonesian declined sharply to $165 million in 1998, increasing to $1.4 billion in 1999, dropping again to $130 million in 2000, $75 million in 2001 and $69 million in 2002. Investment stood at $109 million in 2003, $108 million in 2004, $133 million in 2005 and $203 million as of June 2006.

The Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board hopes Taiwanese investment in Indonesia will reach $2 billion in 2007.

In an effort to achieve this goal, the BKPM has conducted promotions in Taiwan and offered incentives to Taiwanese investors. It has also established a Mandarin-language Taiwan Investment Desk in Jakarta