Sambutan Presiden RI - Pertemuan dengan Indonesia-German Bussiness Forum, Jerman, 18 April 2016

Senin, 18 April 2016
Di baca 1572 kali

SAMBUTAN PRESIDEN REPUBLIK INDONESIA

PERTEMUAN DENGAN INDONESIA-GERMAN BUSINESS FORUM

BERLIN, JERMAN

18 APRIL 2016

 

 

 

Dear Dr. Hubert Lienhard, President of Asia Pacific Association,

Ms. Iris Gleicke, The State Secretary of Economy and Energy,

Excellency,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Good morning,

 

It is wonderful for me to be here today.

 

Around 50 years ago, U.S. President John F. Kennedy stood not far from here and declared “Ich bin ein Berliner.” I will not say that here today.

 

First, I am not a bakery product.

 

Secondly, I think I would prefer to say “Ich bin ein Kolner” because, during my 15 years as a furniture enterpreneur, furniture exporter, I came to Internationale Mobelmesse in Cologne many, many times.

 

That is why I am delighted to be back in Germany today.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Obviously the world today faces many, many challenges. The Chinese economy continues to go through a massive economic transition. Here in Europe, we face security challenges and social challenges. Around the world, we face the threat of soft economic conditions.

 

Of course Indonesia is also impacted by these global challenges. The bursting of the commodities bubble has hit our economy and our exports very hard. As a result, our currency, the rupiah, has depreciated by around 30% in the last three years. And starting in 2012, we experienced three years in a row of slowing economic growth.

 

However, at the beginning of this year, we experienced a pleasant surprise. If you recall, at the beginning of this year we saw a major volatility in the global capital markets. The stock market in China declined significantly, triggering circuit breakers. The stock market in the United States declined. The price of crude oil plummeted. And yet, our currency, the rupiah, was stable. And our stock market went down only a little bit.

 

Then, when our fourth quarter GDP number came out in January, it turned out that growth exceeded the forecast of, all 23 forecasting institutions, the consisting forecast was 4.8% year on year growth. Instead, we achieved growth of 5.04% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2015.

 

What does this mean? Where are we now? What is the progress in Indonesia?

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I believe that Indonesia, we have reached a measure of economic stabilization. Our first quarter of 2016 GDP numbers will be out very shortly. Growth may go up a little or it may go down a little. However, I believe we have stabilized in the region of around 5% annual growth rates. Our goal will be to gradually raise our growth rate from these levels.

 

How did we achieve this economic stabilization? We have turned to two growth engines to support our economic growth at this time: infrastructure development and investment.

 

Around 18 months ago, our government launched the largest infrastructure development program in the history of our country. You can check with your journalists in Indonesia. You can check with your ambassador in Indonesia, in Jakarta. I believe most of them are surprised by how much infrastructure is getting in Indonesia today.

 

Investment, our second growth engine, is also stabilizing and improving. As the Asian Development Bank recently declared, and I quote, “There is capital outflow from China. And then there is capital inflow to Indonesia. This is the highest level of investors’ interest in Indonesia’s history.”

 

The 30% devaluation of our currency has made investing in Indonesia quite attractive.

 

China’s economy is transitioning from production to consumption, from industry to the service sector, from simple manufacturing to higher value manufacturing. Factories are leaving China and relocating to Southeast Asia. Of course Indonesia will get a sizable share of those factories, considering that we are the largest economy in Southeast Asia, accounting for around 45% of Southeast Asia’s GDP.

 

In January the government of China, in partnership with Indonesian state-owned enterprises, broke ground on US$5.5 billion high speed train link between Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia’s fourth largest city.

 

But the high speed rail link between Jakarta and Bandung, the first ever high speed train in Shoutheast Asia, is not the real breakthrough. The real breakthrough is that China’s state-owned rail equipment companies, in partnership with Indonesian state-owned enterprises, will build factories in Indonesia to manufacture high speed trains and the related equipment. These high speed train factories in Indonesia will not only supply Indonesia’s own future high speed train enquirements, but will export high speed train equipment to the whole of Southeast Asia.

 

What makes all this possible? Very simple: economic reform.

 

Within one month of taking office, we cut wasteful fuel subsidies by 80 percent to free up 20 billion dollars per year of fiscal space, which we are spending on infrastructure, healthcare, and education.

 

In August of last year, I reshuffled my cabinet to bring in more technocrats and professionals.

 

In September, we launched a major deregulation campaign.

 

And we have issued eleven policy packages since then: improving customs facilities, lowering energy costs for industry, negative list investment opening, and many other reforms.

 

We even took inspiration from Europe. Five years ago, the European sovereign debt crisis pushed many European countries to implement difficult reforms. It took only three years after passing reforms for Spain to return to a healthy economic growth. Ireland is once again booming.

 

Likewise in Indonesia. We welcomed the emerging markets down-turn to push through painful, difficult, and controversial but important and overdue reforms.

 

And  I am here assure you that we will continue to reform. We will continue to simplify regulations. We will continue to open our economy.

 

And to those who stand in our way, I only have one thing to say: achtung.

 

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I like German business culture. I am the same as you all. I also don’t like to talk a lot. I like to do a lot.

 

By the way, my Minister of Trade grew up in Germany. He went to kindergarten and elementary school here, in Germany. Please test his German language later.

 

His top priority on the international side is to complete a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the European Union. I will test him on that later.

 

So you see, Ladies and Gentlemen, I chose a German-speaking Trade Minister. And I assigned him to make CEPA with the European Union his top overseas priority. I hope that shows very clearly how eager we are to do business with Germany.

 

Danke Schon. Thank you very much.

*****

Biro Pers, Media dan Informasi

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