The sluggish growth of the economy, projected to continue until next year, has not discouraged businesses. Unilever, a company that has been operating in Indonesia for some 20 years, remains confident that Indonesia will have bright prospects as an emerging market from the ASEAN region.

"To continue to grow, Indonesia must maintain its environment and educate its citizens. This is crucial for the acceleration of economic growth in the future," said Peter Frank Ter Kulve, president commissioner of Unilever Indonesia.

Two weeks ago, Peter received Tempo's Ririn Agustia for a short interview at the Kempinski Hotel, Jakarta. Excerpts of the interview below:

Does Unilever plan to make new investments in Indonesia in the near future?

We continue to invest in Indonesia. With Unilever’s annual growth of about 12 percent to 15 percent, we need to add twice as many industry capacities every six years.

Can you mention some examples of how investments have been hampered in Indonesia?

The government has welcomed us well so far. But Indonesia needs large investments in infrastructure, such as road constructions, because it is crucial in order to keep up with economic growth. Aside from that, Indonesia’s education level must also be encouraged because it will maintain productivity growth.

How does Unilever perceive the Indonesian market? How much has it contributed to the company?

Developing countries currently contribute around 55 percent to the company. In 2020, we hope this contribution can reach up to 80 percent, including from Indonesia. Indonesia is an important country for us. We hope that in the long run, the economy will continue to be fine, supported by urbanization and the growth of the population. We believe that businesses will grow rapidly if we continue to work hard. So will the economy.

The sluggish growth of the economy will continue until next year. How will this affect Unilever?

Although the growth of Indonesia is projected to only reach 5.5 percent, the economy is still solid. We still believe there is a lot of room for growth here because we haven’t maximized our product penetration. The frequency of purchases is not very high yet. With good market development and economic growth of between 5.5 percent and 5.6 percent, we believe businesses will still experience healthy growth next year. (*)