Terror survey points to bilateral damage

RECENT terrorist activity in Indonesia is expected to have a more damaging effect on bilateral relations than on the day-to-day operations of Australian businesses, according to members of the Australia Indonesia Business Council.

AIBC recently conducted a survey of its members to examine the effects the recent Jakarta bombings would have on business, industry and bilateral trade and investment in the region.

AIBC president Eric de Hass said several respondents commented that, while they thought existing businesses and investments would continue, they believed that potential businesses or investments may defer their decisions to invest in Indonesia or lead them to consider alternative opportunities in countries such as China.

The results showed that: 78 per cent of those surveyed felt the bombings had a minimal effect on their business; 17 per cent said it had a significant impact; and 6 per cent said it had no impact.

None of the respondents described the bombings’ effect on their business as “critical”.

From an industry perspective, 76 per cent of respondents said the bombings had minimal impact on their industry while 18 per cent said the bombings had a significant impact.

A further 6 per cent thought bombings had had a critical impact.

However, when asked what impact they thought the bombings would have on bilateral trade, investment and potential business in the region, 53 per cent said they thought the bombings would have significant impact, while 47 per cent said they thought there would be minimal impact.