Government Appreciates Kendal SEZ as Pioneer of Investors in Partnering with MSMEs

September 01, 2021

Located at Kendal Regency Regent's Office, business actors in Kendal Special Economic Zone (SEZ) signed the MSME Partnership Declaration (1/9/21). Kendal SEZ became the first industrial area to launch a partnership between business actors (investors) and MSMEs. Kendal SEZ based on industrial estates, which was inaugurated by President Jokowi and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2016, was given a direct message by the President that the presence of Kendal Industrial Park (KIP) must be able to provide community welfare and support regional development.

Didik Purbadi as Director of KIP said that KIP as a national Strategic Project was developed for 2200 hectares, and as a joint venture between PT Jababeka Tbk (KIJA) and Sembcorp - Singapore is committed to always supporting government programs. This partnership with MSMEs is a manifestation of the industrial existence to synergize with MSMEs in advancing Kendal Regency. Didik hopes that this partnership can be based on the principles of GCG (Good Corporate Governance). "We hope that with this partnership program, business actors in Kendal SEZ and MSMEs can grow together with growth and sustain in advancing Kendal," he said.

The signing of the MSME Partnership Declaration was also attended by Kendal Regent Dico M Ganinduto and Anang Widiasmoro as Head of Kendal SEZ Administrator. In the signing ceremony, there were eight business actors who participated, one of which was PT Kawasan Industri Kendal as the developer business entity of Kendal SEZ, and 7 other business actors who were members of Kendal SEZ. These include PT Master Kidz Indonesia, PT Eclat Textile International, PT Global Textile Indonesia, PT Sinar Harapan Plastik, PT Auri Steel Metalindo, PT Maju Bersama Gemilang, and PT Borine Technology Indonesia. The companies come from several countries, namely Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, during the event, Dico expressed his gratitude to the business actors for investing in Kendal SEZ. As his appreciation, he promised convenience for investors to invest in Kendal SEZ. Dico also welcomed the partnership between business actors and MSMEs, including local and national business actors.

Dico stated that the Kendal government promised to fight for investors' expectations regarding tax allowance and tax holiday could be realized by BKPM. “In my vision and mission, I want to create easy investment as well as a safe and comfortable investment climate in Kendal Regency. For business actors who have signed a partnership today and the file requirements are complete, we will help to immediately realize the tax allowance and tax holiday.” This is also the first time that business actors can enjoy tax allowances and tax holidays even though they are still in the construction process.

Andy Chan, President Director of PT Master Kidz Indonesia also expressed the hope that the tax allowance and tax holiday would be realized soon. According to him, the Tax Holiday is one of the reasons they are interested in investing in Kendal SEZ, therefore he hopes that the tax allowance and tax holiday can be resolved soon. The same hope was also conveyed by Auripallas Pramana (President Director of PT Auri Steel Metalindo), "For steel and galvalume industrial companies like us, of course we really hope that we can enjoy this tax holiday soon. Since we started operating in Kendal SEZ, we have made partnerships in terms of recruiting local workers, involving MSMEs in making company uniforms, as well as making the remaining materials of our production to be reprocessed by MSMEs into various stoves and agricultural tools."

On the same occasion, Hary Tio as President Director of PT Sinar Harapan Plastik said that previously his party had partnered with vocational training for labor recruitment at his first factory,. He also would do the same thing for the factory in the Kendal SEZ. Likewise, PT Eclat Textile International, directly hopes that Kendal Government will assist them in conducting labor recruitment partnerships, "Currently we are training 400-500 workers that we prepare for the production section. But in the future we need up to 6000 workers, therefore we expect government support and assistance in terms of the availability of trained workers" said Jake Su (General Plant Manager of PT Eclat Textile International).

As for answering the expectations from business actors regarding the realization of the tax holiday, Dico said that in this case he received a direct order from the Coordinating Minister for the Economy. The ordes is for business actors in Kendal SEZ whose complete the administration, the tax holiday can be issued immediately.