NEW CELL PHONE RULES TO ATTRACT INVESTORS: BATAM AGENCY
Batam, 12 Dzulqa’dah 1435/7 September 2014 (MINA) –The Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BPK FTZ) is optimistic that the less stringent rules on cell phone imports produced in the area will attract big names in the cell phone-making industry to invest there.
As reported earlier, the revised version of the Trade Ministry’s 2012 regulation on the importation of cell phones, hand-held devices and tablets, exempts Batam-made cell phones from several administrative requirements, such as having to obtain registered-importer status as well as import-permit approval and undergoing verification upon shipment. The new rules are effective as per August this year.
Due to its status as a free-trade zone, goods distributed from Batam to other parts of Indonesia are subject to import regulations, including import duties, The Jakarta Post quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
“The planned new rules will be a magnet to other cell phone producers to set up factories in Batam. We hope that producers such as BlackBerry, Oppo, Samsung and others will be interested in setting up factories in Batam. The proximity of Batam with Singapore as the distribution hub for Asia is not shared by other parts of Indonesia,” BPK FTZ spokesman and One-Roof Integrated Services (PTSP) director Dwi Djoko Wiwoho told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The opening of new factories would not only provide new jobs but also be beneficial for technology-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that could serve as support for cell phone manufacturing, Djoko said.
Thus far only one phone maker, PT Sat Nusapersada, has opened a facility in Batam. The electronics manufacturer started production in July and assembles phones sourced overseas under the Ivo 4G brand.
South-Korean giant Samsung and China smartphone maker Oppo are expected to establish facilities in Indonesia in the future.
“Batam has the technology. We have an IT center that could save data like that for BlackBerry. Now the rules must be adjusted to meet producers’ needs,” Djoko said.
BPK FTZ goods and services traffic director Tri Novianta Putra shared the same view as Djoko, saying “This new regulation is expected to attract more global cell phone producers to build factories in Batam.”
Meanwhile, Telkomsel general manager of sales and customer care for the central part of Sumatra, Nurcahyo Priyadi, said the 4G LTE cell phones produced by Satnusa Persada could only be used in Jakarta and Bali as the other parts of the country had yet to develop the necessary infrastructure.
There are three main components in the cellular telecommunication industry that are known as Device, Network and Application (DNA). It would be a great accomplishment for the country if the three were sourced domestically, according to Nurcahyo.
“So far, we [Indonesia] has acted as a conduit to channel device and application from overseas [producers] to domestic consumers,” he said, adding that Telkomsel will bring 4G LTE technology to 10 big cities in Indonesia in 2015 to boost connection for its customers.(T/P009/P3)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)