No Mass Lay Off In The Country: Former Finance Minister

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Former Finance Minister Fuad Bawazier said there was no mass dismissal of workers by companies in the country.

There were many workers have lost their jobs after a number of companies stopped operation, bur the condition causing the dismissal was not as many people have believed, Fuad said .

Japanese electronic companies Toshiba and Panasonic and U.S car maker Ford stopped operation in the country  as they  failed in market competition, not because unfavorable investment climate, he said.

He said Toshiba and Panasonic decided to stop operation in the country as they lost in competition facing South Korean rivals.

Similarly Ford  has decided to close its agent  in the country it failed the competition facing other car makers such as Toyota.

"There is no lay off because of investment climate being no longer conducive in the country," he said.

In fact many Indonesian companies still are recruiting new workers indicating that the condition is conducive, he added.

He said the country's economic condition is fairly good  with stable macro economic indicators .

Rupiah is strong facing the  U.S. dollar, and  the country's foreign exchange reserves still exce3ed US$100 billion, he cited.

"The position of the economic indicators gives convenience for doing business in the country," he said.

Security is also good , he said, adding the recent Thamrin terror had no effect on the economy.

Indonesia did face problem  with the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community , he said.

"It is not that our goods might lose in market competition, but we fear possible relocation by more companies resulting  many workers to lose job," he said.

In a free market, it is easier for companies make merger  or relocate factories for efficiency, he said. (WDY)