AIBCNews


	Issue Number 159, October 2017

	In this issue



	President's Column

	NSW Update

	QLD Update

	VIC Update

	WA Update

	Indonesia Australia Business Summit 2017

	Seminars highlight business opportunities in Indonesia for Australian entrepreneurs

	IABC Conference 2017

	IMARC 2017

	APRC: 3-5 November 2017

	IndoView

	Events

	For a list of current events, please click here.

Phil Turtle
National President

President's Column

Dear Members and Friends,

This month saw the penultimate round of IA-CEPA negotiations relocated to Jakarta thanks to the threatening behavior of Mt Agung in Bali. With just one round remaining to be held in November, we look forward to the finalization of this long-awaited Agreement. AIBC remains in close contact with its Indonesia Australia Business Partnership Group (IA-BPG) colleagues, and with Trade Minister Ciobo’s office, to make sure that our collective interests are front-of-mind as the Negotiators go about their work.

We are encouraged by the goodwill and sense of urgency and importance placed on these negotiations by all participants, and trust this will be reflected in a substantial Agreement that unlocks a number of areas of opportunity. Of course though it will be up to the business community to rise to the occasion and step up to make the most of the outcomes.

IA-BPG Members and others at Round 9 Negotiations with Trade Negotiators Deddy Saleh (Indonesia) and Trudy Witbreuk (Australia) – Jakarta 2-6 October 2017

Many would have attended the highly successful recent series of “Indonesia Now” events held around the country in collaboration with Austrade and DFAT. Our thanks go to Senior Trade Commissioner (Jakarta) Sally-Ann Watts, Chris Bandy, Dr Matthew Durban, and Consul General to Makassar, Richard Mathews, for their support and contributions. More can be seen on these events in the State Updates below.

Following on from these are the upcoming IABC Conference in Surabaya, East Java (5-7 November) and the Indonesia Australia Business Summit 2017 in Adelaide (27 November). Both events are highly commended, and we encourage all those that can make it to these events to get involved. More details on both events can be seen below.

Whilst someway off, the AIBC has started preparations for the next AIBC Conference, in November 2018. This promises to be an outstanding event held at a time the IA-CEPA will have been in place for 12 months, and both countries will find themselves in the lead up to important national elections. The venue for the Conference is to be the Gold Coast, home of Trade Minister Ciobo, which will present a great opportunity for visitors from around the country and from overseas to explore some of the world-renowned attractions to be found there and in the region.

Phil Turtle,
National President

NSW Update

INDONESIA NOW 2017

The NSW branch of AIBC was pleased to co-host "Indonesia Now 2017" with Austrade at the MLC Centre in Sydney's CBD on 10 October. NSW AIBC Deputy Chair Nick Alexander acted as MC for the event, which featured a number of engaging speakers with experience of both the opportunities and challenges in Indonesia.

Senior Trade Comissioner Sally-Ann Watts highlighted three main changes in the Indonesian market: the digital transformation of the economy, the emerging middle class, and the role Australia can play in closing the skills gap.

Trade Commissioners Chris Bandy and Matthew Durban outlined opportunities for Australian businesses in the key sectors of agriculture, aviation, marine, defence ,e-commerce, fintech, education, future cities and health.

Sally-Ann Watts addresses the audience in Sydney

DFAT's lead negotiator for the IA-CEPA, Trudy Witbreuk, provided an update on the free-trade agreement and where Australian businesses may benefit. Senior Manager India and ASEAN, Guy Boekenstein, presented on the NSW Government's engagement with Indonesia, including a brief case study from a NSW business with experience in Indonesia.

Mr Nathan Greef, Chief of Staff and Country Operations Manager at Telkomtelstra, gave an insightful presentation on Telkomtelstra's experience as a start-up joint venture in Indonesia, and emphasised the importance of adapting to the Indonesian market.

Nathan Greef, Chief of Staff, Telkomtelstra

IA-CEPA Standards for Enabling Trade

AIBC NSW Chairman Michael Fay joined a panel discussion at the Standards Australia Workshop on " Standards for Enabling Trade" under the IA -CEPA. The event was held at Standards Australia in Sydney on Wednesday 18th October with 40 delegates from business industry, government and associations.These included AIBC member Blackmores, DFAT , the Department of Industry Innovation and Science, the Export Council of Australia and Dairy Australia.Both IABC and the Standards Australia Indonesian counterpart Badan Standardisasi Nasional (BSN) presented and the input from business was very helpful. Thanks to Damian Fisher from Standards Australia and his team.

(L-R) Michael Fay Chair AIBC NSW, Dr Bronwyn Evans CEO Standards Australia, Pak Nyoman Supriyanto BSN, Damian Fisher SA, Pak Darma Tyanto Saptodewo IABC

Michael Fay,
NSW Chairman

QLD Update

INDONESIA NOW 2017

As with the rest of the states, Qld welcomed the Austrade Indonesia Now roadshow into town on the 11/10. We decided on a breakfast meeting at the offices of EY on the 51st floor of one of our CBD buildings. A great venue and an excellent turnout. Austrade, Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ) and ourselves presented a very collaborative and synergistic Indonesian focused “face” to the room.
The event was sold out and 50 plus businesspeople from both the public and private sectors attended. There was a very wide range of business sectors represented in the audience, all at varying levels of experience and understanding of the Indonesian market so Austrade’s presentation with its broad range of topics was ideal and generated a wide range of questions from the audience.

Representatives from Austrade, TIQ and AIBC spoke and were all “singing from the same hymn sheet” in relation to businesses doing their research, seeking advice (Austrade and TIQ), finding a partner and choosing carefully.

The morning led to a number of membership enquiries for the ABIC and assistance enquiries for Austrade with everyone praising the practical format of the event as they left. Strong networking was done prior to and following the presentation which should lead to a number of new members coming on board with the AIBC QLD Branch in the near future.

Matthew Durban addresses the Brisbane audience

TRADE & INVESTMENT QUEENSLAND COMMISSIONER ROUNDTABLE

Fortunate timing allowed the AIBC QLD to follow the Indonesia Now Event with a round table presentation from the TIQ Trade Commissioner, Pak Oka Simanjuntak, on the 18/10. We first pitched this TIQ event at the Indonesian Now breakfast as a practical follow up to the Austrade event and didn’t send out an email until after the Austrade event so as not to confuse people. This really seemed to work with another full event within a week.

The roundtable luncheon was attended by 20 people at the TIQ offices for a more intimate and Queensland focused discussion. Many of the attendees had also attended the Austrade breakfast so this was an ideal follow on. Once again a very broad range of business sectors were represented, by people with varying degrees of Indonesian experience. All the people at the table were happy to share their collective wisdom with the attendees so all in all another very successful event.

Very little IA-CEPA information or updates were shared at either of the events leaving open the opportunity for another such presentation round once the agreement comes to a conclusion. The two points that came out strongly at both events were that Australian businesses need to have an Indonesian strategy and that Australian businesses are currently not doing a very good job of understanding Indonesia or taking advantage of the opportunities with one of our closest trading partners.

Hugh Ritchie
QLD Chairman

VIC Update

INDONESIA'S CONSUL GENERAL

AIBC VIC are delighted to invite our members and friends to a special networking function to welcome Indonesia's new Ambassador to Australia, Pak Yohanes Kristiarto Legowo, and farewell Indonesia’s Consul General, Ibu Dewi Savitri Wahab.

We welcome Pak Kristiarto to Victoria for his first AIBC Victoria function since his appointment and look forward to our members and friends getting to know him.

AIBC Victoria and Tasmania have enjoyed a long and close association with Ibu Dewi and her team. We are delighted to have the chance to thank them for their friendship and wish them well for the future. Please click here to register for this event.

ICH: MEET THE CHAMBERS

On Monday, 23rd October ICH hosted a networking event for tenant and visiting chambers to meet the Hon Philip Dalidakis, Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade. The executive teams from chambers located at ICH and visiting chambers, members of the consular corps together with senior representatives of the Department of Economic Development, Jobs Transport and Resources engaged in an evening of networking and enlightening presentations by both Minister Dalidakis and the former Premier of Victoria, The Hon John Brumby AO.

ICH was established by the Victorian Government to facilitate trade and investment opportunities through strong collaboration between Government and bilateral international chambers and business associations.

L-R: The Hon. John Brumby AO, Ylva Carosone (Executive Director, International Coordination, Victorian State Government) and the Hon. Philip Dalidakis, (Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade).

Charles Pol Vuillier - French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (left) and Professor Edward Buckingham - Monash University (right)

INDONESIA NOW 2017: BUSINESS NETWORKING EVENT

The Australia Indonesia Business Council, together with the Victorian State Government and Austrade, hosted a Networking Business Event on Friday 13th October featuring Austrade's Senior Trade Commissioner, Sally-Ann Watts and the Victorian Government's Trade and Investment team and Nathan Greef, Chief of Staff and Country Operations Manager at Telkomtelstra. The event was well attended with over 50 guests taking the opportunity to gain an insight into current business opportunities between the two countries.

Jared Heath
VIC Chairman

WA Update

On 9th October, the Octagon Council met with the Minister for Asian Engagement, the Honourable Bill Johnston MLA on Monday, 9 October 2017 for a round table discussion. Going forward, the Minister committed to meet with the Octagon Council at least twice a year to collaborate and discuss issues and policies that relate to his Asian engagement portfolio. The Minister will also consider forming an advisory committee for his Asian Engagement portfolio.

The Octagon Council is comprised of business councils representing the following Asian nations: Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. Julia Scott from the AIBC WA Committee represented AIBC at the meeting (pictured third from the right).

Indonesia Australia Business Summit 2017

The AIBC is pleased to be supporting the upcoming Indonesia Australia Business Summit, to be hosted in Adelaide on 27/28 November 2017.

This 4th Indonesia Australia Business Summit (IABS) is expected to play a vital role, bringing together a number of VIP guests, Indonesian regional governments, Australian Investors as well as the broader business community, with a focus on agribusiness, tourism, biomedical, VET (Vocational Education and Training) and energy & resources sectors.

More can be seen about IABS at the website here.

Seminars highlight business opportunities in Indonesia for Australian entrepreneurs

With Indonesia on track to become one of the largest markets globally, a series of seminars were held this week to explain how Australian businesses can take advantage of the export and investment opportunities on offer.

Indonesia Now 2017 – the changing face of business in Indonesia seminars were led by Sally-Ann Watts, Austrade’s Jakarta-based Senior Trade Commissioner for Indonesia, and her team of in-market Trade Commissioners in conjunction with state governments and peak industry associations. To continue reading the complete article by Sarkis Khoury, Austrade, please click here.

IABC Conference 2017

Our Sister organisation the Indonesia Australia Business Council (IABC) will hold their Annual 2017 Conference between 5-7 November in the historic trading hub of Surabaya. This year's theme is "Making it Happen". We encourage all our Members and Friends to partivipate in this event. Please click here for further details and registration information.

Real Indonesia – Exclusive Offer for AIBC Members

Real Indonesia is a new Australian company, started by AIBC Young Professional, Fiona Bettesworth. Real Indonesia connects curious, conscious travellers to authentic travel experiences beyond South Bali.

In the lead up to the IABC Conference in Surabaya, Real Indonesia is offering AIBC members complimentary access to download their exclusive Surabaya City Guide © (usually $10), using the promo code “AIBC” at checkout – download now.

This guide contains expert advice on where to eat, where to visit, tips for Westerner travellers and an artistic city map of the city.

Real Indonesia are about to launch their full website and heavily discounted pilot tours, to get access to these sign up here.

If you want to be inspired about traveling to Indonesia - like their Facebook and follow their Instagram.

IMARC 2017

IMARC 2017 (International Mining and Resources Conference)

The AIBC is proud to be partnering with the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) and invites you to attend the 4th annual event to be held in Melbourne from 30 October – 2 November 2017.

AIBC Members will receive a 10% discount at the time of booking, using a VIP Code that can be obtained via AIBC's Executive Officer, Sharon Enriquez, here.

IMARC is Australia’s largest mining conference bringing together over 3000 decision makers, mining leaders, policy makers, investors, commodity buyers, technical experts, innovators and educators from over 60 countries for four days of learning, deal-making and unparalleled networking.

The 2017 event will centre on the theme of ‘Creating Value Through Collaboration’ and will cover all aspects of mining; from exploration to investment, production to optimisation through to new technology, future energy as well as the brand new one day programme on mining infrastructure from pit to port.

For more details, please visit the IMARC website here.

APRC: 3-5 November 2017

From 3 to 5 November, BKPM Chairman Tom Lembong will be joinging the Speakers for the most significant bilateral conference between Germany and Australia will redefine the depth and breadth of economic linkages between our countries. Political and business leaders will explore new investment & trade opportunities with a special focus on the growth in the Asia-Pacific. Germany and Australia will discuss how to best leverage their strong ties into the Asia-Pacific.

Learn about the challenges and opportunities in the Asia-Pacific from two angles. Two heavily trade exposed economies will bring senior experts and business leaders to get frank assessments how companies can create new opportunities in some of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies. Companies will be able to utilise a number of side events and networking tools to drive new business & partnering opportunities. Experts from Austrade and Germany Trade and Invest will be on hand to facilitate one on one meetings.

For further information and registration, please click here.

IndoView

Consul General to Makassar talks Tourism Opportunities in Eastern Indonesia

In a brief preview, Australia’s Consul General to Makassar, Richard Mathews, discusses Tourism opportunities in Eastern Indonesia.

To watch this excerpt watch here. The full video is coming soon.

Renewable 'alternatives' cheapest option for Australia, Indonesia

Electricity from photovoltaics and wind are likely the cheapest options for large-scale energy generation in both Australia and Indonesia, according to research from the Australian National University (ANU) and Institut Teknologi Bandung, supported by The Australia-Indonesia Centre.