CREATIVE INDUSTRIES EXPECTED TO GET NEW BOOST

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 23 (ANTARA) -  The Indonesian government will boost development of the country's creative industry so that it will contribute at least 8 percent to the national gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015.        "Therefore, we hope all sides will strengthen their commitment to promote the creative industry. The government will always try to create a conducive business climate but more importantly, industrial players must continue to develop their creativity so that their products will have a high competitive edge," Vice President Boediono said when he opened the Indonesian Creative Product Week 2010 on Wednesday.          The government is  paying serious  attention to development of creative industry because it is one of the economic sectors which is expected to improve the people's welfare.          In his address at the opening of the Jakarta Fair (PRJ) and International Expo in Kemayoran last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that besides improving their welfare,  economic growth born out of creative economic activities would also serve as a correct and attractive means of enriching the nation's cultural values.          He said that developing a creative economy was in line with the country's economic development direction which prioritizes  inclusiveness and justice.         "By adhering to this principle, it will be possible to  achieve  high economic growth and strong economic stability for  all groups of people in the country. We want prosperity to spread evenly and reduce the number of unemployed and poor people," the president said.          As part of the efforts to promote development of the creative industry and its products, the government has instituted  an annual creative product week.          This year's creative product week was opened by Vice President Boediono on Wednesday. In his opening remarks he said that the government had projected the national creative industry's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) to increase to 8 percent in 2015.          "So far, the national creative industry's contribution (to GDP) reaches 7.6. We hope it can increase to 8-9 percent," he said.          He noted that the national creative industry had shown positive growth in the past five years. With the positive growth, the government was convinced that the national creative industry would be able to serve as one of the main pillars in implementing  economic development in the future, he said.          Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu on the occasion said meanwhile that this year the government had set itself a target of 5.8 percent growth in the country's creative industries.          "Our target is to have at least an increase of 5.8 percent from the value of creative industries' contribution to the GDP in 2009," she said  at the launch of a Creative Industry Portal at the Jakarta Convention Center on Wednesday.           She said, so far  creative industry growth was recorded at an average of 3.8 percent per year. Yet, the government did not yet have data on the growth of creative industries in 2009 but estimated  it had reached 4.5 percent.           Data at the ministry of trade show that the contribution of creative industries to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounted to Rp151 trillion, or 7.28 percent of total GDP in 2008. "There five biggest contributors to GDP were fashion, crafts, advertising, design and music," she said. Fashion contributed 43 percent, crafts 25 percent, advertisement eight percent, design six percent and music five percent.          The minister said that creative industries which had a double-digit growth potential, included computer services and software (12.5 percent), advertising (12 percent) and interactive games (14.9 percent).          Last year, exports from the creative industry were valued at Rp114.9 trillion or 7.52 percent of the country's total exports.          The government, she said, was trying to encourage the growth of creative industries by facilitating increased access to financing sources, technology, protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), raw material supplies, as well as providing promotional facilities and product exhibitions.          "We intend to create a pilot project with several banks, including Bank BNI which has long been involved in the development of creative industries, to try to provide financing. With that we want to see the problem being faced to find their solutions," she said.          This will be done because so far creative industries still have limited access to capital sources at banks and other financial institutions.          In the meantime, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said that the government was emphasizing  efforts to explore creative economic potentials through  Presidential Instruction no. 6 / 2009 on development of a creative economy.          The potentials of creative industry could among others be explored through the creative product week, which was opened on Wednesday.          He said that the government was targeting  transactions worth a total of Rp40 billion in the 2010 Creative Product Week (PPKI).           Laksono said that  in 2007 transactions in the creative product week reached a value of  Rp16 billion while in 2008 it stood at Rp34 billion and Rp31 billion in 2009. "We hope transactions this time will reach  a total value of Rp40 billion," Agung Laksono.          "The PPKI 2010 which is now being held for the fourth time since 2007, is expected to become a reliable instrument for the development of creative economy. This should not be developed only through presentations on various advancements of creative products but also through efforts to encourage the creation of the seeds of entrepreneurship," the minister said. ***2*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/23:30/A014) 23-06-2010 23:34:3