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The
Jakarta Post, Bali
Two
months after the ASEAN free trade area (AFTA)
was fully implemented, visiting ASEAN Secretary-General
Ong Keng Yong on Thursday acknowledged that
many people in the region remained unaware of
the benefits to be derived from competition
under AFTA. "Many people in all the ASEAN countries
are not fully aware of the meaning of competition,"
Ong told reporters on the sidelines of a two-day
ASEAN conference on fair competition law and
policy. He urged the ASEAN member countries
to take action to boost the public's understanding
of competition to help smooth the implementation
of AFTA.
"We tell the people that competition will benefit
consumers as it will produce lower prices,"
he said. The conference was sponsored by the
ASEAN secretariat, the World Bank and Germany-based
Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit
(GTZ) GmbH. The conference is aimed at developing
a common understanding among ASEAN countries
of the benefits of competition laws and policies
in the implementation of AFTA. "In terms of
policy, all of us here must agree ... to move
constructively to set up our own respective
competition policies or laws," Ong said. Ong
expressed disagreement with the policies of
some countries in maintaining high import tariffs
on a number of products. "There are some countries
that are maintaining high import tariffs and
want to delay AFTA, but we have signed an agreement
so we have to implement it," Ong said. AFTA
was agreed upon in 1993, with the implementation
of the free trade scheme initially scheduled
for 2008. The timeframe was later brought forward
to 2003.
Under the AFTA scheme, the six original ASEAN
member countries -- Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand
-- have to slash their import tariffs on almost
all products traded in the region to below five
percent. The four newer ASEAN countries -- Vietnam,
Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar -- are allowed to
delay their tariff reductions until 2010. According
to Ong, the adoption of competition policies
and laws by individual member countries would
promote, among other things, the protection
of consumer well-being, address uncompetitive
practices in enterprises, and make the countries
more attractive to foreign investors. Meanwhile,
the chairman of Indonesia's Business Competition
Supervisory Commission (KPPU), Syamsul Maarif,
said that competition law in ASEAN should be
a key component in developing a freer regional
market.
"Without any provision for rules on competition,
trade liberalization cannot prevent business
players and the authorities from creating new
barriers," Syamsul said. The KPPU was set up
three years ago to promote fair competition
in the business sector and prevent monopolistic
practices from developing. However, according
to the KPPU report, it had found difficulties
in curbing unfair business practices here due
to the loopholes in the existing regulations,
and lack of support from the government. The
KPPU also expressed concern over the country's
judicial system, which had not displayed any
goodwill in helping promote fair business competition
as shown by the handing down of several court
verdicts in favor of unscrupulous businessmen.
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JAKARTA:
The
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
(HSBC) and PT Schroders Investment Management
Indonesia have launched "Reksa Dana Smart Invest",
a new mutual fund aiming to offer investors
the potential to earn high returns through a
low risk investment.
"The rupiah denominated fixed-income mutual
fund will invest mostly in Indonesian recap
bonds. With a minimum investment requirement
of Rp 20 million, investors can earn up to approximately
12 percent per year," HSBC senior vice president
Lily Budiono said on Thursday at a news conference.
There are no lock-in periods associated with
the fund, which means investors can redeem their
investment at any time without incurring a redemption
penalty, she said. The fund will be managed
by Schroders and distributed exclusively for
HSBC customers.
"Our market research indicates that customers
want to invest in a fund that offers high returns
but low risk. 'Reksa Dana Smart Invest' has
been specially designed by HSBC and Schroders
as the solution to address our customers' needs,"
Lily said. -- JP
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