Comparative Study on the Perception and Response of Singapore and Indonesia
Needless to say, Indonesia hasn't been sitting idle. As the largest market in the region, Indonesia has braced for this budding economic environment in its own way. The fact that Indonesia has already implemented a competition law would be an exemplary movement.
As a matter of fact, only a few countries in the region have regulated fair trades by adopting a competition law like Indonesia. On top of that, larger local firms such as traditional family businesses are also deeming the AEC as a valuable chance for their new source of growth engines.
Comparative Study on the Perception and Response of Singapore and Indonesia
In addition, concerns of SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) particularly in Indonesia that they may be isolated from the far-reaching age of the AEC are getting bigger.
In spite of such negative voices raised, Singaporean and Indonesian governments have been regarded to take necessary steps to realize their commitments to the AEC as ambitiously set out in the AEC Blueprint.
Comparative Study on the Perception and Response of Singapore and Indonesia
As identified above, Singapore and Indonesia may have been claimed to pour continuous efforts to cope with the era of the AEC. Both countries have concentrated on the advent of the AEC and the impacts that the new regional economic community would bring to them.
Nevertheless, there are yet complaints especially from the private sectors in both countries that incomplete information sharing and insufficient corporate engagement on the core agendas of the AEC has been left shortages.
Comparative Study on the Perception and Response of Singapore and Indonesia
In addition, in general, information concerning the AEC fails to reach most members of the business community largely due to the fact that both government and the ASEAN secretariat do not have a systematic mechanism to disseminate information.
Results of SWOT analysis on the Indonesia's perception of and response to the formation of the AEC can be diagramed as below.
Comparative Study on the Perception and Response of Singapore and Indonesia
Major players already have a good and comprehensive understanding about the AEC. The major players are large companies whose activities are related to export-import, foreign companies, and foreign affiliates or local companies that are involved in international production networks.
However, the number of major players is very small and accounts for less than one percent of the total number of business establishments in Indonesia.
Comparative Study on the Perception and Response of Singapore and Indonesia
In 2007 Indonesia introduced a new investment law aimed at making Indonesia more attractive to foreign investors. Indonesia is one of the few countries in the ASEAN that has promulgated a competition law and has established an independent agency in charge of competition policy – the Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition.
Larger firms tend to have better knowledge about the existing FTAs and, in general, are more optimistic than smaller ones. This is true also with regard to the AEC.
Comparative Study on the Perception and Response of Singapore and Indonesia
According to the papers by Hadi Soesastro and Raymond Atje (p. 72-77.) and Widdi Mugijayani and Pratiwi Kartika (p. 210-212.), Indonesia's major perception of and response to the formation of the AEC can be summarized as below.
To its credit the Indonesian Government has taken the necessary steps to incorporate its commitments to the AEC into the country's national economic development programs. With regard to its commitments to the AEC, there is, unfortunately, no simple way to verify the degree of the Indonesian Government's compliance.
