New Zealand is interested in investing in geothermal and animal husbandry projects in Indonesia, trade minister Gita Wirjawan said.
“For investments there are two sectors that New Zealand is interested in, animal husbandry and geothermal plants,” he said during a seminar on business and investments held by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and the New Zealand government here on Monday.
The event was also attended by visiting New Zealand prime minister John Key, flanked by trade minister Tim Groser and a 40-member business delegation.
“With regard to animal husbandry, New Zealand has 30 million head of cattle and 40 million sheep, while its population is only 4.5 millions. So there is a lot of added value that they could give us,” he said.
Gita who is also head of the Capital Investment Board, said New Zealand`s businessmen have been positive about the investment potential in the animal husbandry sector, not only in cattle breeding but also processed cattle products.
“New Zealand is also interested in geothermal development projects because that country is, like Indonesia, located in the ring of fire and so they are interested in Indonesia, which has 40 percent of the world`s geothermal total reserves,” he said.
Gita added that New Zealand also has skills in processing geothermal energy, as some experts in the field also joined the prime minister`s delegation.
He said, however, he could not as yet tell about the value of their investment. “But I think it will be quite big. For cattle development the investment is expected to be realized this year, while for geothermal projects, further study is needed.
With regard to trade between the two countries, the minister admitted it was still very small, only US$1.1 billion.
“The government is making efforts to see trade between the two countries reach minimally one percent of the two countries` total gross domestic product. The two countries` GDPs total US$1.2 trillion and so one percent of that is US$12 billion. As it is now still recorded at US$1.1 billion, it means a lot of work still has to be done,” he said.
Indonesia export products to New Zealand include textile, garments, agricultural and animal husbandry materials.
“Indonesia, meanwhile, imports a lot of processed milk, which is their main export. We now still suffer a deficit of between US$100 million and US$200 million in our trade with New Zealand, but hope with the ratification of the ASEAN-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement early this year that conditions would become more equal,” he said.
The FTA has been considered mutually beneficial because, the minister said, under it Indonesia could export more goods and services to New Zealand.
According to data from the New Zealand government, Indonesia is the world`s tenth largest export market for that country and the largest market in Southeast Asia.
New Zealand`s exports to Indonesia reach 870 million New Zealand dollars, and imports from Indonesia total 704 million dollars.
Total bilateral trade between the two countries has reached 1.5 billion New Zealand dollars.
New Zealand`s main exports to Indonesia in 2011 were food and drink, including milk, cream milk, cheese and butter, amounting to 60.9 percent of its total exports worth 521.3 million New Zealand dollars.
Cooperation between the two countries in geothermal projects began in 1982 when New Zealand`s then prime minister, Robert Muldoon, and president Soeharto opened the first geothermal project in the country in Kamojang.
