SA, Indonesia explore investment opportunities

Monday, July 24, 2017

South Africa and Indonesia have agreed to identify sectors to exploit investment opportunities.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies and his Indonesian counterpart, Enggartiasto Lukita, met on Friday during the third Joint Trade Committee meeting, which was followed by the South Africa-Indonesia Business Forum.

At the meeting held in Midrand, Johannesburg, the two countries exchanged a study on trade complementarities in order to identify potential tradeable sectors and goods.

South Africa and Indonesia agreed to work closely to facilitate the business-to-business contact and also support each other’s endeavours towards diversity exports, as well as to improve the structure of trade further.

“As South Africa, we are looking for productive activities and investments interests. It is therefore paramount to interrogate the study that was done by the two to identify the challenges pertaining to investments,” said Minister Davies.

Both Ministers also agreed that identifying these sectors will ensure that business communities from both countries optimise benefits from the existing complementarities in terms of the investments. Currently investments between the two countries are non-existent and this is an opportunity for both countries to explore areas of investments and trade.

Minister Davies said trade between the two countries has seen a steady increase over the last two years and has a potential to grow.

Two-way trade between South Africa and Indonesia experienced relative upward trend since 2012. Total trade between the two countries grew from R12 billion in 2012 to R13 billion in 2016.

Minister Lukita said South Africa is an important trading hub in the world and also a gateway for accessing African markets.

He added that Indonesia is pleased that South Africa is paying greater attention to it as one of its strategic trade partners between Asian and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Business Forum held after the Ministers’ meeting provided a platform to highlight opportunities in both economies and also explore areas of collaboration and strengthening the trading partnerships between each other.

Business communities from the two countries held business-to-business meetings with the hope to enter into joint ventures and partnerships.

Meanwhile, the dti will lead a business delegation to participate at the Trade Expo Indonesia in October 2017. – SAnews.gov.za