Dalton Wong, Chariman of Speedwind and current IndoCham Chambia President.
Harrison White
KADIN the Jakarta-based commerce and trade chamber has selected Dalton Wong as Vice-Chair for its Cambodia and Vietnam chapter, as the Indonesian government and private investors aim to increase economic cooperation.
KADIN which stands for ‘Kamar Dagang dan Industri Indonesia‘ in Bahasa Indonesia, or the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the umbrella organization of all Indonesian business chambers and associations.
It covers Indonesia with its business network through 34 regional Chambers and 543 district branches. KADIN speaks on behalf of all 217 major business associations and 31 Bilateral Committees.
The organization will work with the locally run Indonesian Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia (IndoCham) launched in 2021 as a signature project of the current Indonesian Ambassador and operates under the country’s national phrase Bhinneka Tunggal Ika “Unity in Diversity” (one is more).
To read more about IndoCham Cambodia click here.
KADIN opens Cambodia and Vietnam office
Dalton Wong, who is Chairman of Speedwind and the current IndoCham President, told Cambodia Investment Review that the organization is the apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Indonesia and is focused on all matters relating to trade, industries, and services to support the development of sustainable and equitable economic growth in Indonesia.
“Founded in 1968 and established by law in 1987, KADIN is self-funded and the only nationwide business organization mandated by the Indonesian Government. The organization acts as the voice of the private sector and maintains close relations with the government,” Dalton said.
“Specifically, for the KADIN Bilateral Committee for Vietnam and Cambodia which I am the Vice-Chair, we carry the same mission and focus on mutually beneficial cooperation within our scope in trade, business, and commercial activities with all businesses in Cambodia,” he added.
Previously, Cambodia was under KADIN Bilateral Committee CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam) where all activities were conducted and directed from Jakarta.
Dalton Wong has worked closely with the Indonesian business community to attract more investment to Cambodia.
Dalton explained that while bilateral trade, commerce, and economic activities were already ongoing, KADIN decided to establish Bilateral Committee Vietnam and Cambodia in December 2021 to have a sharper focus on Vietnam and Cambodia.
“Moreover, since KADIN is a self-funded organization, it, therefore, needed qualified and capable Indonesian business entities to represent it in their assigned country, in this case, Cambodia,” he said.
“With the modified committee focusing more on Vietnam and Cambodia, we intend to establish deeper and closer trade, industry, and commercial relations between Indonesian businesses and those in these two countries, and encourage greater local Indonesian representation and involvement,” he added.
According to its constitution, KADIN is the vehicle, the umbrella of all Indonesian Chambers and Associations. KADIN will therefore be the umbrella organization of the Indonesian Chamber in Cambodia and the Indonesian Chamber in Vietnam as well.
Indonesian investors look to Cambodia
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) has outlined that highlighting successful Indonesian investors in Cambodia will be key to attracting more quality foreign direct investment from Indonesia into the Kingdom.
Speaking at the 2022 Indonesian-Cambodia Investment Dialogue summit CDC Secretary General Sok Chenda Sophea welcomed more Indonesian firms to Cambodia and establish a business that had already been successful in their home country.
“To Indonesian investors, I wish to invite you to visit Cambodia (we have no more quarantine). For those investors please do whatever you are good at in your home. If you have experience in agro-business in Indonesia you should not come here and invest in hospitality,” Sok Chenda Sophea said.
To read more about the 2022 Indonesian-Cambodia Investment Dialogue click here.
“Cambodia has great potential for Indonesian companies to seek bigger markets in the EU and North America regions. There are many industries, trade, and business cooperation opportunities which Indonesia and Cambodia can work together to explore or expand their investment and business portfolios and exposure,” Dalton said.
“Indonesia is a large country with many products and natural resources that can dovetail well with Cambodia’s natural resources, youthful population, and growing market. It can be the processing and production base for many Indonesian companies, to be a springboard into bigger markets,” he added.
Additionally, Dalton explained that, as the impacts of climate change will affect every country in the world, the country must also start focusing our collaboration in ESG in various sectors such as food production, agriculture, health care, green energy, and digitalization of the economy.
In 2020, the total trade volume reached $588.65 million. From 2016 – 2020, the trend of trade balance between both countries was on average 7.53%, based on the data from the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia.