Yudhoyono Urges Development Of Natural Rubber Processing Industry

Cikarang, West Java, Sept 17 (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged the development of the natural rubber processing industry to support the country`s economy and development. He made the call while inaugurating the tire plant of South Korean firm Hankook at the Lippo Cikarang Industrial Complex in West Java on Tuesday. The president stated that the potential of the country`s natural rubber resources was yet to be fully tapped. "One of Indonesia`s potential commodities is natural rubber. Right now its production touches 3.3 million tons a year, but only a small amount of this has been exploited to be further processed into products such as tires, rubber gloves and others," the President noted. He added that the national tire industry was one of the industries that could absorb the country`s natural rubber potential given that Indonesia`s car industry was continuing to grow. "The average growth of the industry, as the industry minister just said, has reached eight percent a year, which is in line with the rapid annual growth of the automotive and motorbike industries in the country," he said. In view of this, the President welcomed Hankook Tire`s investment to build its seventh plant in the Lippo Cikarang Industrial Zone. On the occasion, President Yudhoyono asked Hankook to contribute to the development of small and medium businesses in the area through a corporate social responsibility scheme. The inauguration function was also attended by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Industry Minister MS Hidayat, Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, former South Korean president Lee Myung Bank and his wife, Hankook Tire Vice Chairman and CEO Seung Hwa Suh, Hankook Tire World Wide President and CEO Hyun Shick Cho and Hankook Tire President and CMO/CMOO Hyun Bum Cho. The Hankook plant in Cikarang is the company`s seventh global production center. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held in June 2011, with the total investment in the 60-hectare project expected to touch US$1.1 billion by 2018. The completion of the first phase of the plant has cost US$353 million. In its early stages, the new plant will produce six million tires a year, with 30 percent being allocated for the domestic market and 70 percent being exported to ASEAN member countries, North America and the Middle East. The production is expected to boost capacity to 100 million tires in 2014.