INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - Indonesian businessmen are advised to immediately respond to the intention of the Chinese government that will open the door wide for foreign investors to enter the country. Micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) Indonesia is considered to have the capital of comparative advantage to be able to compete with Chinese products.

This was expressed by the observer of UMKM from Indosterling Capital, William Henley. He said this was related to the statement of Chinese Trade Minister Zhong San who wanted to open the door for foreign investors as well as a promise to facilitate foreign investors entering the Chinese domestic market as well as guarantees of the rights of foreign companies.

"The products of UMKM Indonesia have their own peculiarities, there are various comparative advantages, for example is the variety of concoction on Indonesian shrimp crackers which is armed with the richness of the culinary culture of the nation," he told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday (2/1/2018).

Quoting Trading Economics data, William explained, per capita income (GDP) Bamboo Curtain country until the end of December 2016 reached 11,199 US dollars. Among G20 member countries, China is third behind the US (18,569 US dollars) and European countries (11,885 US dollars).

William explained that one of the supporters of China's economy is the large population. The population based on the United Nations projection in 2017 reached 1.41 billion. Of that amount, about 50 percent are middle-class inhabitants.

McKinsey consultancy firm, William said, projected within the next five years, China's middle class population will increase to 76 percent. They are residents who previously earned 9,000 US dollars to 16 thousand US dollars per year, to 16 thousand dollars to 34 thousand US dollars per year.

"The potential of this potential is of course very dear if passed, especially with the commitment of the Chinese Government is an opportunity," said the man who is familiarly called William Botax this.

However, William realizes there are still many challenges that are now facing the perpetrators of MSMEs homeland. Among the challenges include the psychological aspects of the market, weak product brands, to fundamental things like administration.

About the psychological market, William saw, as there is still a fear and worry among MSME businessmen. "This is not surprising because our domestic market is currently still inundated with Chinese products," he said.

However, keep in mind, William said, our SME products have its own peculiarities. "This is where our comparative advantage is."

Then related to weak product brand, William said, all that is not only related to product quality alone. Brand building, he said, requires excellent service and certainly a reasonable price. If these components are met, then the Indonesian SMEs will be increasingly recognized by consumers in China.

"As for the basic things such as administration, of course the players of UMKM Indonesia need a helping hand of the government, in this case the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industry, and other relevant agencies, can go down directly to provide assistance," he explained.