“千島之國”的港口如何后來居上？

許俊豪

很難想象一個被譽為“千島之國”的國家會缺少有競爭力的國際大港，但從近年來各種全球百大集裝箱港口榜單上確實難覓印尼港口的蹤影。印尼港口數量非常可觀，又是東南亞第一大經濟體和近年來經濟發展較快的國家之一，港口經濟發展潛力巨大，而如何釋放這股巨大的潛力，是這個國家也在“上下求索”的答案。

“千島之國”，港口數百

眾所周知，印尼是個群島國家，并且位于國際貿易航線沿線，因此，港口的門戶作用對于印尼的對外經濟活動至關重要。

印尼有各類港口近700個，其中國際貿易港口超過140個，包括89個處于全面運營狀態的國際海港和52個專用碼頭。最大的港口雅加達港，處理著印尼50%的轉運貨物，其外貿吞吐量也占印尼進出口貨物的50%以上。雅加達港目前有4個碼頭，其中雅加達1號碼頭，即雅加達國際集裝箱碼頭（JICT）位于雅加達丹戎不碌（故又稱丹戎不碌港），是印尼最大的集裝箱港口。

印尼水路運輸也較發達，水運系統包括島際運輸、遠洋運輸、特別船運，全國有水運航道超過2.1萬千米。

因此，相對而言，港口和水路運輸對印尼而言是較為重要的貿易基礎設施，印尼90%以上的對外貨物貿易要通過海上運輸來實現。

后程發力，能否迎頭趕上？

印尼是東盟第一大經濟體，并且近15年來經濟增速基本都保持在5%以上。此外，印尼對外貿易規模也不小。印尼中央統計局的貿易報告顯示，2019年印尼對外貿易總額為3382.47億美元，其中與中國的貿易額為704.3億美元，在中國—東盟貿易額（6415億美元）中占比超過10%。

不過，印尼港口的發展卻相對滯后于經濟發展水平和貿易規模。其港口的數量雖多，但大部分是小港口，集裝箱港口更是稀少。

而印尼港口競爭力的不足與基礎設施滯后有很大關系，尤其是21世紀的前10年，印尼港口基礎設施落后及其所造成的擁堵一度讓印尼的海運成本成為東盟之最，很多需要跨島運輸的印尼貨物都不得不繞經馬來西亞和新加坡。這樣一來，無異于把業務拱手送人，進一步降低了自己相較于馬來西亞港口和新加坡港口的競爭力。

因此，近年來，印尼正在加大基礎設施建設，包括新建或擴建一批港口，并對港口管理進行改革。例如，印尼第二港口公司是印尼政府在港口領域建立的8家國有企業之一，其任務是在全國范圍內對港口進行運營管理。后來，8個公司合并成4個，并逐步面向私營機構和外資開放。目前，印尼第二港口公司不僅在印尼的10個省運營著12個主要港口，還在海外不斷擴大港口收購計劃，例如越南和孟加拉國的港口。

據印尼第二港口公司董事阿里夫·蘇哈托諾（Arif Suhartono）介紹，如同第二港口公司一樣，現在印尼的很多港口正處在一個新的發展時期。

“集群化”發展才能釋放“多量”的潛能

以史為鑒，印尼很清楚，物流成本是制約港口競爭力提升的關鍵。所以，目前印尼的港口尤其注重降低物流成本。

據阿里夫介紹，進入2020年以來，該公司已經在印尼的港口大力推行數字化轉型，包括貨物運輸和倉儲服務等業務的數字化，并且港口服務票據也以數字形式提供，以便輕松交付等。盡管在疫情影響下，印尼港口吞吐量總體下降，但受益于這一行動，包括雅加達港在內的許多港口的倉庫使用量都有所增加。

阿里夫還認為，從更宏觀的角度上來探討增強印尼港口的競爭力，除了完善基礎設施，很重要的一點就是集群化。“港口是一個生態系統。印尼有很多大大小小的海港和內河港，僅第二港口公司就運營著12個港口，集群化可以提高所有港口的活動效率，以及在航運網絡中更充分地發揮港口的作用。”

而由中國與新加坡共同發起建設的國際陸海貿易新通道（以下簡稱“陸海新通道”），正努力將不同區域間的海港、陸港連接起來，加強聯動，建立互利共贏的陸海新通道”。在阿里夫看來，這正是港口集群化發展的典型案例。

“我們與荷蘭鹿特丹港、東盟國家的港口都建立了合作關系，我們對其他國家的合作者也持開放態度。接下來，我也非常期待能夠在‘陸海新通道這一國際項目中尋求合作機會，并與北部灣港、新加坡港等共同探討港口創新合作模式。”阿里夫對印尼媒體說道。

The COVID-19 pandemic is devastating economies around the globe， including Indonesias. Major enterprises may have various options to overcome the hurdles. However， Indonesian micro， small and medium-sized enterprises may not have the same options.

New or existing MSMEs are inches away from going out of business because of various issues. These may be cash-flow issues due to outstanding debt and liabilities， or simply a massive loss of customers.

It is worth noting that MSMEs may seem to be increasing in number despite the outbreak. This may mislead people into believing that MSMEs are thriving amid the pandemic. However， this is the result of massive terminations of employment or salary reductions. In order to gain extra income， employees often turn to creating small businesses. Most of these involve selling food and beverages through online platform and social media， which can be easily done.

Indonesian governments take on MSMEs

Despite the above， the Indonesian government recognizes the threat to MSMEs due to the pandemic. The minister of cooperatives and SMEs has warned that around 50% of MSMEs may go out of business.

The problem here lies with the reduction of physical meetings. Most MSMEs rely on physical interaction to engage with buyers and suppliers. If the pandemic drags on much longer， most MSMEs thus will need to adjust to online markets and may struggle to find new customers just to make ends meet.

It should be noted that MSMEs have a great role in Indonesias economic development and absorption of manpower. It is thus a great concern for the government to help these enterprises stay afloat. To do so， it has issued Government Regulation No. 23 of 2020 on Implementation of a National Economic-Recovery Program.

The governments plan is to provide several economic stimuli. Some of these are allocations of funds through a bond for banks. In return， the banks must support debt restructuring or financing programs for those in need. Another would be investment and providing securities.

These stimuli may seem promising for MSMEs. However， their implementation has been challenging on the bureaucratic level. The stimulus on debt relaxation and restructuring was delayed by a lack of implementing regulation from the relevant government institution.

District governments involvement

Indonesia， with its huge population and territory， should not directly adopt other countries policies. The economic stimuli mentioned above are adopted from neighboring countries， including Singapore and Malaysia. Such policy was indeed effective there because it suits their culture and condition. However， the Indonesian government should take into account the diversity of the citizenry to adopt a policy for MSMEs.

In light of the above， the role of district governments can also be significant and should be taken into consideration. It should be admitted that the district government is the body that better understands the varying problems encountered by the MSMEs in their respective regions. Therefore， district governments should issue their own regulations to prevent MSMEs from going out of business.

Proposed scope of district regulations

District governments may issue regulations in favor of MSMEs. One approach could provide a legal basis to cooperate with local companies that are not so affected by the pandemic. These companies mostly focus on daily needs such as the agriculture or health sector. The purpose of such cooperation is to seek assistance from the private sector to support MSMEs.

The assistance may be in the form of financial aid and/or training and product development. The training may help MSMEs cope with digital marketing activities. Additionally， it is an opportunity for the district government to encourage private companies to fulfill their corporate social responsibility.

Second， regulations may impose obligations to use products made by the local MSMEs. This aims to stimulate the economic development for the MSMEs and promote their products at the same time. This is crucial， since financial aid and training for MSMEs will not suffice unless there is greater demand from the market. In the long run， this may help form a bigger market for MSMEs.

It is worth noting that this type of policy is not unheard of in the business sector. Massive projects involving public-private partnerships oblige project owners and contractors to procure some of their materials locally.

Indonesian communities： helping hand

On the other hand， all of the above still may not suffice to support MSMEs. It requires the involvement of the whole community， in particular youth initiative. In this digital era， younger generations tend to grasp a better understanding of this trend. They may also maximize the use of digital transactions to obtain profit. The youth initiative thus may help create a trend to help MSMEs boost sales of local products.

The first step would be to cooperate with promising young individuals. These individuals may provide greater insight depending on their background， such as in non-governmental organizations or startups.

Additionally， those with greater expertise may provide further assistance in the form of consultancy. Their advice should aim to help address issues such as cash flow， marketing， raw-material prices and even funding. The government then in response may provide a specific solution for these issues affecting MSMEs.

The government may need to conduct further analysis on the above suggested approach. Nonetheless， it should not be disputed that it will require a joint effort from every stakeholder to resolve these challenges. The government as the main stakeholder should pave the way for others to join in and support MSMEs.

· Source： Asia Times