It was also instructive to learn that all of the Mercedes-Benz cars for the ASEAN economies are assembled in Indonesia.
We shouldn’t be surprised after all Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. Yet, even for those of us living on Indonesia’s doorstep, the rise of the Indonesian economy seems somewhat unheralded.
So it was an eye-opener for me to make my first visit to Jakarta in November last year. Ten years ago, our Australian clients almost never nominated Indonesia as a destination for patent, trade mark or design filing. Recently, this has picked up for some clients who are seeing Indonesia as an increasingly important market. Accordingly, Franke Hyland thought it was time to strengthen our network in the great nation to our north.
I am certainly pleased that I made the effort to visit Jakarta. As is the case in many similar developing economies, the juxtaposition of great apparent wealth in gated communities with apparent poverty in makeshift housing is unfamiliar to Australians. Even more arresting though is impression of an advancing economy, pursuing technological advancement and building a distinctly Western-style future.
I see a strong future in Indonesian cities for a number of technologies, including communications, food technology and medical devices. These are some of the areas of business that I expect will be pushed forward as the Indonesian economy advances.
Having seen the potential of the Indonesian economy over the next couple of decades, I will certainly be encouraging our clients to consider protecting their IP rights in Indonesia. It is an economy, a market and a nation that we would be foolish to ignore.
Adam Hyland.
