Kadin Indonesia and Myanmar Trace Economic Cooperation

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and Myanmar strengthen bilateral economic relations by exploring business opportunities between the two sides.

Kadin assessed that the potential for economic cooperation with Myanmar has not been fully optimized because there are still some challenges that are often faced by business people.

"Business matching (business matching) needs to be done continuously between our businessmen and Myanmar. Our cooperation opportunity is quite large, it does not reflect the potential for cooperation that we should explore together" said Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rosan P. Roeslani on the sidelines of a business meeting held as one of the series of activities of the Minister for Myanmar's Government of Myanmar who is also Myanmar Investment Chief, U Thaung Tun to Indonesia at Menara Kadin (8/8/2018).

Based on Kadin's records, In 2017 Myanmar was Indonesia's 42nd largest trading partner. The total trade between Indonesia and Myanmar increased from USD 729 million in 2016 to USD 975 million in 2017. Indonesia's exports to Myanmar also increased from USD 615 million in 2016 to USD 829 million in 2017.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's exports to Indonesia increased from USD 113 million in 2016 to USD 142 million in 2017. And the trade balance between Indonesia and Myanmar is a surplus for Indonesia. The main commodities exported to Myanmar are palm oil, paper, petroleum and coal.

Rosan explained, some of the things that are still a challenge in Indonesia's trade with Myanmar are, among others, the absence of complementarity of export products, the absence of direct transportation which causes high transportation costs, thus affecting the sustainability of the supply of goods and licensing systems that are still complicated for exports and imports.

On the other hand, he continued, several potential trading opportunities are enormous. This can be seen from several aspects, such as prices, where the quality and method of payment of some agricultural commodity trades can be negotiated.

According to him, as fellow ASEAN countries, Indonesian entrepreneurs are expected to be given a wider opportunity to penetrate their markets.

Indonesia-Myanmar investment relations are also relatively small. Myanmar's investment in Indonesia in 2016 consisted of only 1 project with a small value, while in 2017 the investment value was USD 0.6 million which included 3 projects. The value of Indonesian Investment in Myanmar reaches more than USD 200 million.

"Currently, trade and investment relations are still relatively small, but in the future the prospects and opportunities remain, both for trade and investment relations," Rosan concluded.