American Batik Design Competition: "Spirit of America in the Heritage of Batik"

To celebrate the new US-Indonesia Partnership, Indonesia's Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, is launching a nation-wide competition to design 'American batik'.

Indonesian Batik is known the world over for its vibrant colors and diverse designs. This competition is a challenge to US-based designers to craft batik designs with a distinct American style.

Prizes include cash and a trip to Indonesia where the winning designs will be made into actual finished fabrics.

Please spread the word to your friends, colleagues, and family.

All the entry requirements are available at the competiton website.

Rebroadcast of SBY Interview

Click Here to see Charlie Rose's excellent interview with President SBY of Indonesia.

Captures the dynamism of Indonesia and you get a strong sense of who SBY is as a person.

SBY Interviewed for One Hour on PBS TV April 25

Heads Up !

Award winning journalist Charlie Rose will interview Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono, on April 25th. Shot just a few weeks ago in Indonesia, Rose's interview is a one hour conversation in English and may be the first of its kind with an Indonesian President.

In NY the interview airs at 11pm EST. Check your local PBS listings for your area or the Charlie Rose Show website which lists stations that carry the show. You can also check this site a few days after the show to view a rebroadcast.

AICC played a role in connecting the show's producers to the President's office.

Indonesia Not Impacted by Japan Tsunami

Indonesia breaths a sigh of relief. Hopefully, it remains this way.

The Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said on Friday a small tsunami set off by a massive quake in Japan reached Indonesia's eastern coastline without causing any damage.

"A tsunami of only 10 centimetres triggered by the earthquake in Japan was detected in the North Sulawesi and Maluku islands," the agency's official Rachmat told AFP.

"We have just lifted the tsunami alert in Indonesia."

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry reported that it was looking into the whereablouts and possible needs of its citizens currently in Japan. Ministry data showed that 31,517 Indonesians are in Japan now.

Grow With Indonesia, a 3G (global growth generator)

Citi Global Economics has just issued a fascinating report that changes the vocabulary for looking at economic growth and investment potential. Written by Chief Economists Willem Buiter and Ebrahim Rahbari, with input from a team of 50 Citi economists from around the world, the report is on one hand a highly optimistic forecast for the next 40 years as well as a primer on what a country can do to fulfill its destiny. Indonesia's path to consistent high growth is a narrow one but they can get there. (Click Here to read the full report)

A few "pearls" from the report:

• India overtakes China as the world's largest economy by 2050
• Indonesia will become the 4th largest economy by 2040.
• Water will be a 3G (global growth generator)
• For poor countries with large young populations, growing fast should be easy
• Developing Asia will have 50% of world GDP by 2050
• Asia's growth will be 6.2% until 2030 vs Developed World 1.5-2%
• Indonesia's road to high growth is a narrow one (see hurdles section below)
  

New Vocabulary
Now that Emerging Markets have already emerged, and the BRICs have plenty of company, Citi has identified a new paradigm in global markets- "3G" countries or Global Growth Generators. 3Gs are the "global sources of growth potential and of profitable investment opportunities." It identifies developing Asia and Africa as the 3G regions and specifies Indonesia and 10 others as the 3G countries. Not just applicable to regions and countries, Citi emphasizes that "cities, commodities, asset classes, activities, and products" can all be considered 3Gs. This is a useful change in the framework of investment analysis in an interconnected world where cities and corporate sectors are beginning to have more in common with their brethren across the globe than with their own country. Citi argues that the 3G countries are reaching a critical stage of development where the level of political stability and capital formation has risen to the point where high sustained growth will be the norm in these regions for the next 40 years. By Citi's projections, Developing Asia will constitute 50% of the world's economy by 2050. North America's share will have dropped from 25% to 11%, and Western Europe's from 24% to 7%. Africa's economy will be larger, at 12%. Certainly, investors can't afford to ignore the 3Gs.

Excerpt from Indonesia section
"Indonesia's predicted growth rate of per capita income from 2010 to 2050 is 5.6% per annum. As early as 2040 it will join the ranks of the world's top 10 economies and by 2040 it will rank fourth behind India, China, and the US. It currently ranks 50th in real per capita income, with a 2010 real per capita income level of US$4,362, so there is plenty of potential for catch-up and convergence. Indonesia's large population (233 million in 2010) is predicted to rise to 288 million in 2050. Its population of working age is expected to increase by 17.9 percent over the same period. Thus, demographics are a factor that should be working in Indonesia's favor to achieve China-like growth rates over the next 40 years."

Indonesia Loses a Hero

Indonesia lost one of its heroes over the weekend. Bustanil Arifin, age 85, passed away on Sunday in Los Angeles after a bout with pneumonia. Arifin fought against the Dutch and Japanese in Indonesia's revolutionary army and later was one of the first diplomats assigned to NY in the government of President Suharto. In the early 70's as Consul General, Arifin worked closely with AICC members such as American Trade Sales, Inc., Continental Grain, and Connell Rice and Sugar, to provide wheat and rice to his country under the US PL 480 program at time when many were literally starving. Over the next 25 years as Chief of the National Logistics Agency (BULOG) and Minister of Cooperatives he filled Indonesia's rice bowl. His portfolio was simple: provide the essential food products that all Indonesians need at an affordable price. The “market operation” policies he developed and implemented stabilized food prices throughout the entire economic spectrum and were later studied by neighboring countries eager for a similar level of food security.

"Pak Bus" was one of the last surviving senior members of the generation that sheparded Indonesia through major transitions: from a Dutch colony to an independent republic; from a brush with anti-American communism to the pro-West New Order of President Suharto; from an impoverished people to one of the middle income Southeast Asia tigers.

Bustanil Arifin was a nation-builder whose life touched the lives of many Americans in business, government, and academia. Several AICC members worked closely with "Pak Bus" as well as his family on many business and education projects over the years. He will be sorely missed.

Born in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra, on Oct. 10, 1925, Bustanil graduated from Hollandsch-Inlandsche School (HIS) in Medan in 1940, Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO), also in Medan, in 1942 and Zyoku Kan Gakkoo school for officials in Batusangkar, West Sumatra, in
1944. At 18, Bustanil hoped to become a soldier and joined a military training camp in Batusangkar,West Sumatra. His military assignments included covering Medan as a platoon commander under the Medan Special Regiment Batallion 3, North Sumatra.

After Indonesian Independence in 1945, Bustanil pursued his bachelor degree in law at Padjajaran University, Bandung. Before graduating in 1959, Bustanil met with R.A. Suhardani, a young Javanese girl who later became his wife. He is survived by his wife and four children.


In November 2011, Bustanil received a certificate of appreciation from AICC for his service to Indonesia and for his lifelong support for strong US-Indonesia relations.







(above: Bustanil Arifin with Joseph Harari, President of American Trade Sales, Inc.)

Who Is the Indonesian Consumer ?

During my November 2010 visit to Indonesia I spent time with Debnath Guharoy, of Roy Morgan Single Source. Debnath’s group tracks the opinions of a sample of 25,000 Indonesians from all walks of life and regions of the country. Its always fascinating to talk to people such as Debnath, who seem to have their pulse on the thinking of the average Indonesian, if one believes there is one ! For example, I learned that fewer Indonesians are using buses, 62% now own a cell phone but only 1% have insurance, a majority feel they are better off this year than last but trust in government is dropping, they are more health conscious and conservative in their outlook, but support for sharia law is dropping. Roy Morgan is a leading Australian market research firm whose clients include local and international banks and consumer brands. Knowing that Debnath is a ubiquitous contributor to Indonesian newspapers I asked AICC’s intern, Jon Rea, to compile a summary of these public columns published in The Jakarta Post. I was pleasantly surprised to find a wealth of information just in these casual columns. So, AICC is pleased to present them to you, not in their original narrative form but as a set of bullet points. They indicate a country increasingly driven by information technology and a consumer oriented marketplace. Demands for better quality products (including non Indonesian made ones) , better government, infrastructure are on the rise, presenting challenges and opportunities simultaneously.

And yes, surprisingly, less people are going to those new shopping malls that seem to pop up overnight; more are going to new convenience stores.

Click Here to read a list of bullet points on: consumer trends, political opinions, views of the economy, and basic demographics