Based on third quarter figures available so far, Indonesian National Shipowners Association (INSA) chairman Carmelita Hartoto was quoted in local reports as saying that growth would moderate to around 7% last year from 10% the year before.
Carmelita blamed the global economic crisis and a heavy tax burden for the slowdown. She cited a 25% decrease in traffic to Europe and the US as at the third quarter compared to 2012 due to the slow global economy.
“We are basically still optimistic that the domestic shipping industry will still grow this year at 6% to 7% despite the crisis,” Carmelita said. She added that INSA members would have a 7% increase in investment from $2.8bn the year before, with an increase of around 800 vessels.
According to INSA, the number of Indonesian vessels rose from 11,628 in October 2012 to 12,774 by the end of October last year, with capacity also increasing from 16.08m gross tons (GT) in October 2012 to 18.20m GT in October 2013.
Carmelita also called for the abolition of the 10% value-added tax on loading and unloading services for Indonesian shipping firms as an incentive from the government, claiming that local companies struggled to compete against foreign competitors because of it.
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