Dr Naushad Forbes, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will lead a high profile delegation of Indian CEOs to Jakarta, Indonesia from 18 -19 July, 2016. The 2-day visit aims to enhance economic engagement between the two countries considering the huge potential which still remains untapped and new opportunities that have emerged. The visit is also a follow up on the discussions held during the visit of H.E. Mr. Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Transportation of Indonesia to India in February 2016 for Make in India Week.
Ambassador of India to Indonesia and Timor Leste H.E. Ms. Nengcha Lhouvum said that the leaders of both countries have strategic visions and that the visit is timely to enhance the economic engagement.
With a bilateral trade of US$ 15.9 billion in 2015-16, Indonesia has emerged as the largest trading partner of India in the ASEAN region. “There is considerable potential for expanding trade between the two countries in the areas of automotive components, automobiles, engineering products, IT, pharmaceuticals, bio-technology and healthcare sectors”, stated Dr Naushad Forbes, President of CII.
The overall investment scenario in Indonesia is very encouraging. It is an attractive destination for Indian investment in the region. There are about 50 Indian investments / Joint Ventures in Indonesia with significant investments in infrastructure, power, textiles, steel, automotive, mining machinery, banking and consumer goods sectors. “This visit comes at a very opportune time. Both India and Indonesia are striving to make major socio-economic transformation through new economic initiatives. Indonesia as the largest economy in ASEAN can lend critical traction to India’s Act East Policy”, said Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.
The CII delegation includes Indian industry members keen to expand their local presence and others who are interested in establishing a local presence, including in some cases in manufacturing.
During the two day visit, the delegation will call on Indonesian Minister of Trade, Minister of Industry, Minister of Transportation, Cabinet Secretary, Deputy Chairman BKPM and have interactions with Chairmen and members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Indonesia and the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo). The visit will also include Business Meeting with the Jakarta Government and will have sectoral presentations on specific sectors like Waste Water Treatment and Management, Renewable Energy, IT etc. With Governor of Jakarta as the Chief Guest, the Business Meeting will provide a platform for Indian industry to understand specific areas for collaboration.
Speaking on the opportunity he sees in Indonesia, Mr Adi Godrej, Past President CII and Chairman, Godrej Group, said, “Indonesia is our largest international business and a key part of our growth strategy at Godrej. We believe that it holds tremendous potential. We have made significant investments by acquiring the Megasari Group with its category-leading Hit, Stella and Mitu brands. Today, we employ 5,000 Indonesian team members and are growing our presence to make this our ASEAN base. Indonesia has one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world, with a young population. We believe that this will provide tremendous opportunities for both driving penetration and increasing consumption in our core categories.”
In addition to Dr Naushad Forbes, the delegation will include Mr Adi Godrej, Past President, CII and Chairman, Godrej Group; Mr Farhad Forbes, Co-Chairman, Forbes Marshall Pvt Ltd; Mr G B S Raju, Chairman, GMR Energy; Mr Bharat Puri, Managing Director, Pidilite Industries Limited; Mr Vinay Prakash, CEO, Adani Enterprises Ltd; Mr R Varadarajan, Wholetime Director, Rajshree Sugars & Chemicals Ltd; Mr A N Krishnamoorthy, CEO, Blue Star M & E Engineering Sdn Bhd; Mr Sanjay N Bhosale, Managing Director, Saisidha Sugar Equipment & Engg.Co. Pvt. Ltd; Mr Vishal S Budhia, Managing Director & CEO, Sanjoo Group of Companies; Mr Anil Manocha, Executive Director, Ion Exchange Asia Pacific PTE Ltd; Mr Jones Ponudorai, Vice President & Head –ASEAN Larsen & Toubro; Mr Satyadeo Purohit, Director, Forbes Marshall Pvt Ltd; Mr Naveen Gupta, President Director, PT Megasari Makmur Group (Godrej Indonesia); Mr Ankush Kadam, Vice P, resident – Engineering & Deign, Saisidha Sugar Equipment & Engg.Co. Pvt. Ltd and Mr Avinash Shah, CEO – International Coal Assets, GMR Energy Limited.
