Apart From Samsung's Smart Phone Exports, Trade Minister Zulhas: Indonesia Can Be A Production Base

Photo: Doc. Ministry of Trade

Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan when releasing exports of smartphones produced by PT Samsung Electronics Indonesia (PT SEIN) to several countries today. He said, the release of PT SEIN's exports is a tangible form of the role of Indonesian business actors who continue to encourage exports to various Indonesian trading partner countries. Present at the event were the Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Park Taesung and President of PT SEIN Simon Lee. Also accompanying the Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan, Director General of National Export Development Didi Sumedi. Zulhas, as Zulkifli Hasan is familiarly called, emphasized that Indonesia could be the basis for smartphone production exported to various countries in the world. This is shown by the achievement of PT SEIN's smartphone production which has succeeded in exporting 8 million units of smartphones to various countries from 2018 to the 3rd quarter of 2022. "In addition, this export achievement can certainly encourage Indonesia to become a production base for electronic products, including smartphones," said Zulhas, in North Cikarang, Bekasi Regency, West Java, Thursday, October 13. Furthermore, Zulhas appreciated Samsung's contribution to encouraging an increase in Indonesia's exports for electronic products, including smartphones. This achievement, he said, was possible because of the hard work and dedication of Indonesian exporters, including PT SEIN. "However, we must not be careless because global challenges in the future will be even greater. President Joko Widodo has given me directions to increase exports and asked the Ministry of Trade to carry out trade missions every month," he said. Zulhas revealed that the electronics sector is a leading sector that is included in the Making Indonesia 4.0 priority. The electronic sector (HS 85) is the fourth largest export component in Indonesia's export structure. In the January-July 2022 period, the value of Indonesia's electronic exports reached 9.43 billion US dollars. This value is up 18.9 percent from the same period the previous year which amounted to 7.93 billion US dollars. Meanwhile, in 2021, Indonesia's electronic exports will reach a value of 14.1 billion US dollars with a positive five-year trend (2017-2021) of 6.54 percent. In the same year, Indonesia's cellular phone export value (HS 851712) reached a value of 305.8 million US dollars. In general, Zulhas continued, Indonesia's electronic trade performance was recorded quite well. Currently, Indonesia is in the 34th rank as an electronic exporter with a share of 0.25 percent. Through synergies between the private sector such as PT SEIN and the Government to realize Making Indonesia 4.0, Zulhas hopes that Indonesia will be able to become one of the countries that exports of electronics and smartphones with an increasing market share. Making Indonesia 4.0 is a Government program in preparing Indonesia to deal with the era of the digital industry 4.0 which is focused on 7 industrial sectors, namely food-drinking, textiles, automotive, chemical, electronics, medical devices and pharmaceuticals which account for 70 percent of industrial gross domestic product (GDP), 65 percent of industrial exports, and 60 percent of Indonesian industrial workers. Furthermore, Zulhas also said that Indonesia's economic recovery requires strong synergy from all stakeholders, starting from the Central Government, Regional Government, and business actors. "This export release is expected to be a momentum in encouraging the expansion of the export market for Indonesian products as well as being the driver of the Indonesian economy during the post-pandemic recovery period," he said. Zulhas also emphasized that the Ministry of Trade continues to seek to open market access through the Government to Government trade agreement through the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), or the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), as ‘ toll road ’ (toll way) for Indonesian exports to trading partners. "For example, we have just passed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Law, and the CEPA Indonesia-Korean ratification has been ratified. Furthermore, it will follow the Indonesia-United Arab Emirates CEPA," he said. For your information, the Samsung smartphone and tablet factories in Cikarang have been operating since 2015, and continue to invest by updating the production operational system to become more sophisticated, thus increasing production capacity in meeting domestic and export demand. President of PT SEIN Simon Lee said Samsung will cooperate with local companies to assemble air conditioning in Indonesia to support the government's plan to improve the electronics industry. In addition to strengthening its commitment to meeting the Domestic Component Level (TKDN), Samsung seeks to increase exports, open up job opportunities for hundreds of young people and boost Indonesia's trade balance surplus. "Samsung is committed to supporting the government by improving the quality and quantity of exports at Samsung factories in Indonesia. From 2018 to the 3rd quarter of 2022, we have exported more than 8 million units of the Samsung Galaxy smartphone," said PT SEIN President Simon Lee. Samsung has also contributed to improving technological knowledge and skills for young Indonesians through research and development centers called Samsung Research Indonesia (SRIN) and several corporate social responsibility programs: Samsung Innovation Campus, Samsung Tech Institute, and Samsung Smart Learning Class. Simon said, the demand for digital talent in each industry continues to increase. Samsung has trained more than 1,500 students and 190 teachers from 87 vocational high schools and equivalently through the company's social responsibility program 'Samsung Innovation Campus'. And, there are hundreds of talented young people working and developing themselves with SRIN. "This is our commitment as a leading technology company to open up opportunities and create a better future for young Indonesians," said Simon.