KADIN CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE FINALIZATION OF STIMULUS PACKAGE

Jakarta, Feb 20 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) urged the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government here on Thursday to immediately finalize the stimulus package to boost domestic business activities.

The head of Kadin's Permanent Committee for Domestic Trade, Bambang Soesatyo, said that the US business community had already started working to restore their country's economic condition based upon the stimulus package just signed recently by President Obama.
He said the Indonesian business community and the general public were also waiting for a confirmation regarding the country's stimulus package.
He said the acceleration of the implementation of the stimulus package would be very important with regard to immediately responding the US economic movement.
"The urge is relevant considering that the fall and revival of several national industrial sub-sectors depend upon the demand of the US market such as industries of textile and textile products, footwear, fish and other fishery products," he said.
He said the huge amount of spending on new infrastructure projects and tax cuts that the US government would implement would certainly create a lot of new jobs and increase US consumers' purchasing power.
This has to make several industrial sub-sectors in the country that rely on exports to the US market to start making anticipatory measures with regard to a possible rise in demand and consumption in the US in the next few months.
"That is the urgency for the government and the DPR to immediately finalize the stimulus package process, moreover if the stimulus also contains incentives for export-oriented products," he said.
He said the incentive would be included in the price calculation by the businessmen. He said after the fiscal stimulus was finalized the people and the business community could immediately start working with a clear stimulus reference.
"Once again in order to make the stimulus effective it must be supported or completed with a monetary stimulus that focuses on efforts to reduce bank interest rates," he said.