20
FEB 2017
FOOD FOCUS THAILAND
SURF
THE AEC
The economy of Indonesia in 2015 was facing with decreasing
exports due to the stagnating global economy and diving demand
from trade partners. Moreover, the country’s main export product,
coal and natural gas, had faced with declining commodity price.
However, theoutlook for2016appears that the Indonesianeconomy
should improve after the government launched various economic
stimuluspackagescontinuously, anduntil now, the6
th
packagehas
been implemented.
Indonesia’s 6
th
StimulusPackage
Themainpurposeof the6
th
stimuluspackage involves tax incentives
to encourage investment in Indonesia’s Special Economic Zones
(SEZs). Investors can apply for up to 20-100% tax deduction for 25
years. It is expected that the incentives should attract investors in
industrial sector to Indonesia.
Foreign investors are allowed to own
property in the SEZs and can import raw
material with the exemption of Value
Added Tax (VAT). However, the
condition is that the investor must
invest in Indonesia for no less than
500 billion rupiah, or around 37
millionUSD, to be qualified for the
tax incentive for15years.And if the
investment capital reaches1 trillion
rupiah, the investor isqualified for a
tax deduction incentive for 25 years.
Thegovernmenthasalsostatedclearly
that it favors largescale industry. Industrial
goodsproduced in theSEZsshallbeexempt
fromVATwhen theproductsaresold fordomesticmarket.Moreover,
tourismbusinesses, restaurants,andentertainmentbusinessesbased
in theSEZswould also be qualified for entertainment tax deduction
for up to50-100%.
PenetrationStrategy for IndonesianMarket in2016
The Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) has built
up a strategy to penetrate the Indonesianmarket, concluded in its
strategy for ASEAN countries, which is called “DeepeningASEAN”
strategy. The plan will encourage trade in new growing cities,
particularlymaincities invarious regions,apart from thecapital cities,
as well as improving the competitiveness of Thai businesses to
become “economicwarriors”. TheDITPwill act asamentor, helping
thebusinesses in various aspects fromorganizational development
to innovative design and development, informative services and in
depthadvice. Theoverall objectiveof the strategy is to support Thai
investors to be able to penetrate and export to Halal market via
modern trade.
TradePromotionActivities in Indonesia
For the2016fiscal year, theDITPhadplanned for year-roundevents
in Indonesia.Eachevent containeddistinguish featuresas followed;
1. Integrationeventcelebrating84
th
BirthdayofHerMajestyQueen
Sirikit, hosted by the DITP and the Thai Embassy in Jakarta. Thai
investors joined the showcase inAugust 2016.
2.Marketpenetration throughmodern tradeproject,whichwould
focuson tradeandmarketingpromotionactivities. Theevent isheld
jointlywith2supermarkets inJakarta. Theevent atRanchMarket is
onMay 20
th
- June 16
th
, 2016, while the event at Hero supermarket
was held on July 13
th
-August 13
th
, 2016.
It is well known that there are approximately 400millionMuslim population in
ASEAN, and three-fourth of the number, around 251 million, are Indonesian.
Indonesia, both inASEAN and global level, has the largest Muslim population.
Indonesiaalsohas thesecret admirationpoint, aswhenyou reach thecountry’s
capital, Jakarta, you would realize that you were standing on a strategic point
connectingWestJavacoast toover17,000 islands.Thecity is indeed the treasure
for every enterpriseswhowish topenetrateHalal market.
IndonesiaMarket
TheTreasureofHalalMarket
LeveragingThai SME
s
toPenetrate
