Minister Calls for Structural Reforms of Indonesian Industries

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Industrial Minister Saleh Husin, has called for a structural reform of the industrial sector to reduce Indonesia's dependence on imports - in light of the massive impact in the Yuan's recent devaluation by the Chinese government.

"If we can substitute our imports, or if we can manufacture raw materials into goods that we can use domestically, it will definitely help the positiom of our foreign exchange reserves," said Husin in Jakarta on Monday, August 17, 2015.

The Minister went on to say that the government should think about using its' budget more efficiently in order to strengthen Indonesia's industries.

Meanwhile, the Director General for Metals, Machineries, and Transports for the Ministry of Industries, I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan, admitted that the devaluing of the Yuan does post a great risk to Indonesia's industries, which calls for a series of extraordinary measures in order to shield Indonesia's economy from further losses.

"For example, procurements of goods by the government should be regulated," said Putu, who said that the government needs to use more locally produced goods as a mean to protect its' economy and industries, especially considering that at the moment, locally produced goods cannot compete with Chinese goods - price wise.

"In a bidding process, the bidder will always lean towards cheaper goods, as such, the government need to think again - do they really want Chinese products competing in our procurement processes?" Suryawirawan said.

That said, Putu said that there needs to be exceptions for goods that Indonesia have yet to be able to produce domestically.

ANTARANEWS