On Wednesday 30 June and Thursday 1 July 2010, the World Ceramic Tiles Forum gathered in Jakarta for its 17th session. This year’s session of the Forum was hosted by ASAKI, the Indonesian Ceramic Industry Association, and was inaugurated by Indonesia Vice-President Boediono. Following an opening speech by Mr. Alfonso Panzani, Chairman of the World Ceramic Tiles Forum, Prof. Dr. Boediono gave an overview of the Indonesian economy and mentioned several actions which will contribute to the competitiveness of the ceramic tile industry in Indonesia.

From left to right, Mr. Achmad Widjaja, President of ASAKI, Prof. Dr. Boediono, Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia and Mr. Alfonso Panzani, Chairman of the World Ceramic Tiles Forum

The 17th Forum session involved the representatives of the ceramic tiles industry in Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine and the USA. Altogether, these countries represent the very large majority of worldwide production in wall and floor tiles.

The main aspects covered at the Forum’s General Assembly covered global trends in consumption and production, the sustainability of ceramic tiling, developments in standardisation and trends in barriers to trade.

Global trends in production, consumption and trade: Armando Cafiero (Confindustria Ceramica) shared the data available on production and consumption in 2009. World consumption in ceramic tiles has been constantly rising over the last years with an estimate of 5,39 billion m2 in 2000 increasing to 8,55 billion m2 in 2008. As a result of the economic crisis, world consumption decreased slightly (by 1,4%) in 2009 compared to 2008. Over the same period, world production decreased by 2,5%. While domestic sales remained on average stable, exports are reported to have decreased by 10%. However, considering the rapid recovery and return to growth in emerging markets, particularly in Asia, the world production is expected to grow further in 2010 and beyond. The strength of domestic consumption in countries such as China, India, Indonesia or Brazil was particularly emphasised.

Debates on sustainability showed the need for increased cooperation and exchange of information between tiles manufacturers at international level. Aspects related to energy efficiency, environmental performance, safety and educational programmes on the use of ceramic tiles were considered as extremely relevant.

On standardisation, the US delegation gave an exhaustive overview of the work currently being carried out at ISO level by Technical Committee 189. A number of important aspects of standard ISO 13006 are being revised, including the definition of porcelain and rectified tiles, specifications for extruded tiles with low water absorption, new pressed tiles sizing requirements addressing large formats… TC 189 is also considering further work on dimensional tolerances for rectified tiles, specifications for technical porcelain and specifications for mosaic tiles.

Press Release WCTF Jakarta

In the field of trade policy, a panel discussion moderated by David Portalés (ASCER) and involving Eric Astrachan, Andy Chen and Achmad Widjaja – respectively from the US, Chinese and Indonesian delegations – covered extensively the aspects related to tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, multilateral trade liberalisation. Although the Forum members expressed their support for free trade in the sector of ceramic tiles, they could not avoid the conclusion that technical or tariff barriers are increasingly occurring in practice.

As in the previous years, CET, the European Ceramic Tiles Manufacturers’ Federation shared its annual inventory of barriers to trade, covering 96 different practices in 31 countries analysed by the European association as barriers to trade. In that respect, delegations stressed the importance of communication between various tiles manufacturing countries in order to provide clarifications and solutions to such problems. In the absence of such communication, trade tensions or conflict will occur. Reference was also made to the EU anti-dumping investigation recently launched by the European Union concerning imports from China. Trade defence measures are not considered as barriers to trade provided that they are implemented in compliance with the WTO.

Press Release WCTF Jakarta

The Chairman of the World Forum, Mr. Alfonso Panzani, concluded by reflecting the call of the Forum members for fair trade and communication to avoid trade tensions, particularly in the context of an economic crisis.
The 18th session of the Forum will be hosted by Mexico on 7 – 8 July 2011.

Seminar Ekonomi 2010

Seminar Ekonomi 2010

Indonesian exporters have changed their export destination countries from developed countries to the developing countries, with China and ASEAN countries becoming two most regions they would exports their products within the next six months, according to the result of a survey carried out by the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) released on Tuesday.

Conveying the latest result of HSBC Trade Confidence Monitor survey, the Londonbased bank’s survey aimed at measuring the confidence of international businessmen to anticipate their business within the next six months, HSBC Indonesia Head of Trade and Supply Chain Vincent C Sugianto said that 51 percent of Indonesian respondents had trade businesses with counterparts in China.

Besides China, ASEAN countries are also apparently a region where Indonesian businessmen prefer to export their products to. “China and countries in Southeast Asia region would be continuously playing significant roles in terms of export destination countries forIndonesian exporters, particularly for small and medium-sized firms,” Vincent told a press conference here.

“The trade with China and ASEAN countries will be improving particularly after the implementation of ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) that took into effect since early this year,” Vincent said.

The survey aimed at finding each country’s confidence index was conducted in 17 countries, among others United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, China, Indonesia, Brazil, India and Vietnam. According to the survey result, Indonesia’s confidence index increased to 128, or significantly increased from 120 six months ago. It made Indonesia one of five countries with highest index scores, highly competitive to China’s that reached 120.

Forty-five percent of Indonesian respondents were optimistic that trade volume will be increasing within the next six months. Due such an estimation, 64 percent of Indonesian respondents said that they will need more trade financing service within that period.

Respondents regarded that exchange rate increasing interest rate would be the largest hurdles that hindered the trade activities.

(Xinhua, May 4)

PetroChina to invest 30% in Indonesia in 2010

Chinese oil and gas firm PetroChina is increasing investment in oil and gas exploration and development in Indonesia through its local subsidiary by 30 percent this year to boost oil lifting and counteract declining production, the Jakarta Post quoted an official as saying on Monday.

The company’s Vice President Budi Setiadi told the daily that PetroChina’s business subsidiary in Indonesia, PetroChina International Indonesia, had set aside as much as 491 million U.S. dollars and plans to increase the figure to 639 million dollars in 2010.

“We are carrying out aggressive exploration activities both to anticipate the natural decline and boost production,” said Budi.

He added that the company planned to drill 21 exploration wells this year. These exploration activities are estimated to cost the company 23 million dollars, including 2 million dollars for seismic survey.

PetroChina has set targets to produce as much as 106,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BPD) is operation in Indonesia, up from 104,000 BPD in 2009.

PetroChina Company Limited is part of the restructuring of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

(Xinhua, May 4)

Silahkan download file PDF berikut untuk melihat berita seluruhnya mengenai China-ASEAN Business No.13

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“We’re optimistic this year’s export will reach $330 million despite the strengthening of rupiah against US dollar in the first quarter,” Achmad Widjaja told a press conference on the upcoming 2010 world ceramic tile manufacturer forum, Friday.

According to Asaki’s latest data, the ceramic industry’s annual production capacity reached an average of between 237 million and 243 million cubic meters for floor tile, 150 million cubic meters for roof tile, 253 million pieces for tableware and 5 million pieces of sanitary supplies.

Achmad believed the industry would grow despite worries over the market being flooded by cheaper imported ceramics, particularly after the implementation of free trade with China and Malaysia.

Domestic sales of ceramic products reached an average of Rp 15 trillion ($1.62 billion) annually, he said.

“The ceramics industry is fiercely protected by the government. It may be the only industry across the country that has such enormous protection,” he said.

The government imposes 20 percent import tariff on tiles and 30 percent tariff on tableware.

“Apart from the high import tax, all imported ceramics have to pay for surveyed reports at Sucofindo, they cost around $400 for each document,” he said, mentioning the safeguard and the zero percent sales-of-luxury-goods tax (PPnBM) as two other forms of protection.

Nevertheless, he added, the government should implement a strong energy policy for the industry.

“Overall, the [ceramics] industry sees no goodwill from the state electricity company [PT PLN] or the state-owned gas distributor [PGN],” he stressed, adding the industry might not expand without a sufficient energy supply.

The director general of Agro and Chemicals for Industry within the Industry Ministry, Benny Wachjudi, has said the government would manage the energy problems, even though the ceramics industry consumed almost 9 percent of PGN’s gas production.

“For the industry, the availability of gas supply is a must, although the industry’s gas consumption is lower than the fertilizer industry and PLN,” he said.

Apart from the lack of energy supply, he said, the industry still had to be strengthened due to the lack of technology, machinery, research and development and other supporting abilities, including financing.

Benny said most ceramics manufacturers used local financing.

“We are still in discussions with Bank Indonesia in assessing the industrial risks in order to make a competitive lending rate for the industry,” he said, adding the lending rate was based on the industry’s risks, expected profile and operational costs.

“If we can mitigate the risks, I hope we can reduce the lending rate,” he said, adding the government was ready to revoke its protection of the industry once the problems were resolved. (ebf)

The objections from some quarters about the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) are understandable in the shortterm. But if we look at the longer-term, free trade will surely benefit all parties, with more trade and better welfare for our people.

On the morning of April 24, Xu Ningning met with Achmad Widjaja (R), Chairman of Indonesian Ceramics Industry Association and Vice President of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Agro &Chemical Industry Committee, exchanging views on ceramic industry cooperation between China and Indonesia.

The ACFTA, signed in 2004, came into full implementation in January facilitating the import and exports of 90 percent of all products with zero tariffs, and still protecting 10 percent of sensitive products. It is not true we simply opened the door. We can take measures to help suffering industries.

Nor should we be pessimistic on manufactures. Factories making white goods are being redeployed from China to Indonesia because Indonesia is considered to have potentially more balanced economic and social growth than China. Indonesia is seen as a growing regional production hub for Southeast Asia and Asia.

China absorbed 9.2 percent of our total non-oil exports last year. But China’s imports from Indonesia accounted for only 1.3 percent of their total imports.

China absorbs more and more of our exports, while our traditional markets are shrinking. The share of our exports to the US, Japan and EU countries have respectively gone down from 14.8 percent, 15 percent and 16 percent in 2004 to 10.7 percent, 12.3 percent and 14 percent last year.

China became the third-biggest export market for Indonesia last year, with nonoil exports to China reaching US$8.9 billion, after Japan ($11.98 billion) and the US ($10.5 billion).

China has become our number one source of imports. Last year, our imports from China topped $13.5 billion, way above Japan ($9.8 billion), Singapore ($9.2 billion) and the US ($7 billion).

If we look at the structure of our imports from China, the bulk are capital goods and intermediate goods, growing by 51.2 percent and 26 percent per annum respectively. These are the inputs needed so that Indonesian industries can operate and grow. Our industries get more value from cheaper imports from China, to help Indonesian exports.True, we are still suffering from a trade deficit with China. But, trade deficits are common in international trade.

We enjoyed trade surpluses in the period of 1999 through to 2007. In 2008, we started suffering from trade deficits, but the trade gap narrowed in 2009, and in the first two months of this year. We may soon regain a trade surplus position following the full implementation of ACFTA.

It is also true more and more Chinese consumer products will enter our markets. Those are mass products where no other country can compete with China. With or without ACFTA, those Chinese products would make their way to Indonesia anyway.

As in the case of our imports of capital and intermediate goods, importing Chinese consumer products gives more value to our consumers. These imported Chinese consumer products often replace more expensive imported products.

ACFTA does not only potentially threaten Indonesia’s market with an influx of cheaper Chinese products. It also offers Indonesia wider access to Chinese markets. I f we l o o k a t o u r n o n – o i l e x p o r t commodities, the biggest one is our palm oil that faces more difficulties reaching European markets. Our palm oil dominates the Chinese market, with our market share up to 22 percent last year, from 17.4 percent in 2004.

We also have other products that currently dominate Chinese markets. They include tin, cocoa, rubber, shoes, pulp and musical instruments.

Indonesia’s handicraft products from rattan and bamboo are gaining popularity in China, controlling almost 30 percent of China’s market — but their market value is still small, at $23 million.

More importantly, when we are already able to export more of our products to China, it means we are becoming more competitive. If we can compete with China,

we can compete with the rest of the world. Free trade with China is the best available motivation to push ourselves to compete globally.

“The team is tasked with conducting coordination among ministries and between the central and regional administrations,” I Wayan Dipta, the deputy for micro-, small and medium business human resources and assessment of the office of the state minister for cooperatives and small and medium businesses, said at a discussion on local industries in the face of the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement here on Saturday.

He said the team was also assigned to identify the problems of national industries in the face of the implementation of the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement as January this year and also to study regulations that hinder the implementation of the agreement.He did not tell about the composition of the team members.

The deputy secretary general of the Association of Indonesian Businessmen (Apindo), Franky Sibarani, hailed the establishment of the team saying it was a positive step to overcome problems that the national industries might face with regard to the implementation of the Asean-China Free Trade.

He hoped the team would be pro-active and transparent in accomodating problems faced by local as well as national industrialists.

As an example he referred the case of national ceramic industry. He said the country`s ceramic industry still had a big export market in China and the price of its products was still competitive.

However ceramic exporters still faced difficulties due to shortage of power supply needed for processing.”It is hoped the team will accomodate the complaints and help find the solutions,” he said.

An economic observer from state University of Indonesia Ninasapti Triawati said to protect national products the government had to curb onslaught from Chinese products through imposition of the Indonesia National Standard (SNI).

Products from China that fail to meet the SNI standard must not be allowed to enter the country, she said.

“We must not only consider their cheap price but also their security for consumers such as in terms of food producs,” she said.

Although they are cheap they must be rejected if they are not safe for consumers` health, she added.(*)

The 16th session of the World Ceramic Tiles Manufacturers’ Forum, which opened a day earlier and will run through Nov. 7, has brought more than 50 delegates from the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, China, Ukraine, India and Indonesia to Taiwan to attend the forum.

The participants are focusing their discussions on how to design and promote “green” ceramic tiles that conform with the global trend of environmental protection but that also contribute to profit for the makers and help provide excellent home environments, according to the forum organizers.

The worldwide production value of ceramic tiles totals between US$80 billion and US$100 billion per year, with China, Italy, Spain, India, Turkey, Brazil and Mexico the major manufacturing countries.

Taiwan-made ceramic tiles, despite their relatively much smaller production volume — averaging about US$400 million per year — have gradually heightened their world status with increasingly improved quality and designs, the organizers said.

Despite the fact that ceramic tiles are one of the most important ingredients of interior design, the industry lacks universal standards of quality and specifications for manufacturers to follow.

The forum therefore serves as a platform on which manufacturers from around the world can exchange views on world trends, sales experiences and consumers’ needs, the organizers said.

Kota Perugia berjarak sekitar 100 kilometer atau dua jam perjalanan dari pusat kota Roma. Deruta sendiri merupakan salah satu dari 96 distrik Italia sebagai sentra industri keramik di Italia. Deruta juga dikenal sebagai kota industri keramik tua yang berusia 800 tahun lampau atau tahun 1282.

Boediono yang juga ditemani oleh Kepala Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal (BKPM) Gita Irawan Wiryawan serta staf khusus lainnya, disambut oleh Wali Kota Deruta Alvaro Verbena dan pemilik salah satu home industry Maiolche Originali Deruta Ivan dan Grazia.

Boediono sempat disambut dengan iringan lagu Indonesia Raya dari sebuah rekaman saat naik ke lantai dua galeri pusat kerajinan keramik Maioliche Originali Deruta.

Setelah mendengarkan paparan dan disuguhi roti dan penganan khas Italia, Boediono diajak berkeliling untuk melihat dari  dekat cara pembuatan dan pemberian gambar dan motif keramik.

Produksi tahunan Vietnam saat ini mencapai sekitar 300 juta meter persegi keramik dan ubin granit, sedang Indonesia hanya sedikit di atas 200 juta meter persegi.

Dengan lompatan besar itu Vietnam juga diakui sebagai produsen keramik dan ubin granit terbesar keenam di dunia, kata Huy.

Perusahaan produsen keramik dan ubin granit di Vietnam yang besar, seperti Prime, Viglacera dan Dong Tam, yang mana yang pertama menduduki ranking kelima produsen terbesar di dunia menurut majalah World Ceramics.

Peresmian pabrik baru-baru ini di pusat provinsi Quang Nam, merupakan pabrik keramik terbesar di kawasan ASEAN, sehingga memberi kontribusi Vietnam mendapatkan posisi saat ini.

Pabrik Prime senilai satu triliun dong (VND) itu merupakan pabrik produksi kedelapan dari total produksi tahunan 24 juta meter persegi.

Menurut asosiasi, Vietnam saat ini memiliki 45 perusahaan keramik dan ubin granit. Industri keramik ini mencatat pertumbuhan sekitar 29 persen selama beberapa tahun lalu.

Selain untuk pasar domestik, ubin keramik Vietnam juga diekspor ke beberapa negara, mencakup Australia dan Korea Selatan, dengan perputaran nilai 110 juta dolar AS.

Dear ceramic tiles manufacturers,

As decided at the 15^th meeting of the Forum held in Mumbai on 23 October 2008, the 16^th session of the Forum will be hosted by Taiwan in the city of Taipei from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 7 November 2009. 

The Taiwan Ceramic Industries Association is currently finalising the programme which will be sent to you in the coming days together with the invitations.   The Forum will be hosted at the Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel (please find its website for your reference: http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/taipei/fareasternplaza