FIABCI: Indonesia meets Switzerland
- Important exchange across national borders

At the beginning of February, a delegation from FIABCI-INDONESIA visited Switzerland. At the meeting with members of the Swiss FIABCI chapter in Bern, valuable information was exchanged on investment opportunities in the real estate sector in both countries.

The Meetup took place at the invitation of the Ambassador at the Embassy Residence of the Republic of Indonesia. "FIABCI-SUISSE would especially like to thank the host SE Prof. Dr. Muliaman D. Hadad for the warm welcome," said Thomas H. Henle, President of FIABCI-SUISSE and Managing Director of IL Industrie-Leasing AG.
Participants from FIABCI-INDONESIA included President Budiarsa Sastrawinata, who is also Managing Director of the Ciputra Group. Also present were Meiko Handoyo, Principal Member of FIABCI-INDONESIA and Director of PT. Sagotra Usaha, Ivan Sandjaja, Protocol Officer and Managing Director of GEN Indonesia and Rusmin Lawin, FIABCI-International Board of Directors and Director of PT.
BERDIKARI INDONESIA.

In addition to FIABCI-SUISSE President Thomas H. Henle, the Swiss delegation consisted of Jean-Pierre Weyermann, former President of FIABCI-EUROPE and FIABCI-SUISSE and current Managing Director of Weyermann Immobilien AG, Vitali Bekker, FIABCI-SUISSE Board Member and Head Region West Immoveris SA, and Dipl. Arch. ETH/SIA Andreas Binkert, advisor to Energie Schweiz 2000 Watt and partner at Nüesch Development AG.

CEPA reduces customs duties

Thanks to the free trade agreement CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) with Indonesia as part of the agreement between the EFTA states (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) and the Asian republic, over 78% of current Swiss exports to Indonesia will initially be exempt from customs duties. After the tariff dismantling periods of a maximum of twelve years, this proportion will rise to 98 percent. According to SGE Swiss Global Enterprise, a savings potential of up to around CHF 25 million is expected per
year. SE Prof. Dr. Muliaman D. Hadad played a key role in drafting the agreement. CEPA was signed on December 16, 2018 in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. The Federal Council in Bern finally adopted the free trade agreement on May 22, 2019.

"Opportunity for the real estate industry"

According to the Federal Council, CEPA will in particular improve market access and legal certainty for trade in goods and services. The agreement also includes provisions on investment, the protection of intellectual property, the removal of non-tariff trade barriers, competition, trade facilitation, trade and sustainable development and economic cooperation. "In some areas, this
will certainly also help our players in the real estate industry to build new international relationships with Indonesia," explained FIABCI-SUISSE President Thomas H. Henle. With a population of over 260 million, the country is certainly a market worthy of attention. The Southeast Asian country is currently experiencing economic growth of over five percent per year and could even become the fourth largest economy in the world by 2050, according to
forecasts.

Text: Mathias Rinka - 3'332 characters incl. spaces - Date: February 21, 2020