The world's local bank
|
Indonesia Trade Sector Looks To Greater China
For Growth, Says Hsbc Survey
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Fifty one per cent of Indonesia traders say that Greater China will provide the biggest growth opportunities in the next six months, up from 11 per cent six months ago. South East Asian countries are also regarded as the important trading partners region for now and the next six months. Apart for Greater China and South East Asian countries, Middle East is expected to be one of the most promising regions for trade growth in the next six months. Vincent C Sugianto, said: “Greater China and South East Asian countries will continue to play bigger role for Indonesian traders, especially for the small and medium enterprises. This shift from our traditional market, such as US and Europe, will be expanded with the recent implementation of ACFTA. As for the global result, we’ve seen that trading is playing a key role in the global economic recovery. The axis of trade momentum has shifted to emerging markets, where the rebound in trade, fuelled by intra-regional activity, continues to boost global economic recovery. In Asia, international trade is increasingly becoming a key engine of growth for markets which were traditionally focused on domestic trade.” The HSBC Trade Confidence Index covers a total of 17 markets – including key economies in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Latin America, the US and Canada and Europe. In the biggest opinion survey of its kind, 5,120 trade-oriented small and mid-market enterprises were asked for their six-month outlook on: trade volume; buyer and supplier risks; need for and access to trade finance; impact of foreign exchange and government trade regulations. The results were used to calculate an index ranging from 0 to 200, where 200 represents the highest confidence level, 0 represents the lowest and 100, neutral.
Indonesia which index scores 128 (up from 120 last semester), is among the top five of most confidence country. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and Vietnam scored 134, 133 and 132 respectively. All of the markets have a positive outlook, except for France, which scored 95. Overall, trade confidence globally has remained firmly in positive territory since the index was launched in the first half of 2009. Lawrence Webb, HSBC Global Head for Trade and Supply Chain, said: “Our HSBC survey suggests that a positive trade outlook is sustainable as companies expect trade volumes to increase. Importers and exporters in Asia, particularly in India and South-East Asia, are the most confident about securing the financing they anticipate they will need to support new orders. With the recovery in full gear in Asia, constraints on liquidity and funding have become less of an issue. Traders are also less worried about risks arising from buyer default and supplier non-delivery and have employed strategies to mitigate and manage these risks.” Indonesian trader’s level of confidence are reflected on their view about future demand, with 45 per cent of respondents, respectively, expecting trade volumes to increase in the next six months. This trend is aligned with Asian upbeat view on trade volume growth over the next six months. As Asian traders prepare to keep up with rising demand, the need for trade finance is most evident in the region. Robust growth of international trade volumes also drives Indonesian traders’ need of trade finance. More than half the traders (64%) foresee their need for trade finance to increase in the next six months. Demand of trade finance is expecting to meet its supply as over half of traders (55%) are confident that access to trade finance will be increased. Most of Indonesian traders rely on their self-financing capabilities and buyer’s support to meet their trade financing needs. Despite positive outlook, traders say foreign currency exchange rates (FX) and rising interest rate are potential barriers to grow their imports/exports business. Almost half of the respondents (47%) expect exchange rates to be unfavourable to their business in the next six months. The other barriers to grow are rising interest rate (30%) and government trade regulations (28%). However, the two barriers are over-exceeded by confident view of 33 per cent respondents which do not foresee major barriers to growth for the next six months. Vincent said: “Since the inception of the survey, traders have told us that foreign exchange is a concern. However, their confidence grow which may be an indication that while FX is one of the many risks that global businesses must constantly look to manage in order to succeed, it is not necessarily a barrier to growth. This is where Indonesian companies should, and could play an active role by maximizing its potential.” *** For further media enquiries please contact: Notes to editors:
|
||||||||||||||||
HSBC reveals its latest survey, HSBC Trade Confidence Index which gauging sentiment and expectations on trade activity and business growth in the next 6 months. In the survey’s presentation conducted today in Jakarta, Vincent C. Sugianto, Senior Vice President, Head of Trade and Supply Chain HSBC Indonesia and Nirmala Salli, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales Trade and Supply Chain, HSBC Indonesia highlighted that traders from Indonesia are most optimistic about trade prospects with Greater China and South East Asia in the next six months.
