The Indonesian Ministry of Industry has set the goal to reduce automobile import value by about 700 million USD this year from 3.3 billion USD in 2017 through import restrictions, especially targeting luxury cars. (Source: en.antaranews.com) Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Ministry of Industry has set the goal toreduce automobile import value by about 700 million USD this year from 3.3billion USD in 2017 through import restrictions, especially targeting luxurycars.
Directorof Maritime Industry, Transportation and Defence Equipment at the IndustryMinistry Putu Juli Ardika said the import reduction target was the result ofthe government’s policy to temporarily halt the import of over-3000cc cars duringthe last two months, when the rupiah had started to weaken.
Thedecision to stop the import of luxury cars was aimed at maintaining thecountry’s trade balance. They are not primary goods and Indonesian people canuse domestically produced vehicles, he explained.
However,the Industry Ministry will continue to consider import licences alreadysubmitted to the ministry, and the import can be continued under someconsiderations, including agreement with manufacturers to increase exports andexpand its business.
Theimport of below 3000-cc cars will also be under control to check which ones shouldbe included in the import control measures.
In related news, theGovernor of Indonesia’s central bank Perry Warjiyo said on September 5 that the country has spent 11.9trillion rupiah (about 796.7 million USD) in total through several marketoperations to reduce the pressure from depreciated value of the nationalcurrency against the USD.
Perry said in a hearing at the parliamentthat the operations aim to stabilise the foreign exchange market.
The value of the Indonesian currency hasdrastically dropped to around 15,000 rupiah per 1 USD. The bank governor saidthe sharp currency value depreciation in Indonesia was generated by externalfactors that include the global economy downturn, coupled with rising tradetensions.-VNA
