On Saturday, March 11, 2017, the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at UNAIR held a dialogue on optimizing the role of the regional service industry in supporting national economic growth. The event was a collaboration between FEB UNAIR and the Indonesian Services Dialogue (ISD), an NGO focused on conducting studies, research, and providing policy recommendations related to the service industry.
The main speakers at the dialogue were the Mayor of Surabaya, Ir. Tri Rismaharini; Prof. Dr. Mari Elka Pangestu, who was the Indonesian Minister of Trade from 2004 to 2011 and the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy from 2011 to 2014; and Ir. Herliza, MSc, Director of Trade in the Services Sector at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade.
Risma began her speech as the first speaker by presenting the rapid growth of the service sector in Surabaya, evident in the numerous new SMEs operating in the printing, design, and internet marketing sectors. She further explained one of Surabaya's flagship programs, "Economic Warriors," which provides mentoring and awards to Surabaya residents who successfully run any type of business and empower the community through it.
Prof. Dr. Mari Elka, the second speaker, spoke about the potential of the service industry both nationally and locally in Surabaya. Based on the data she cited, it is known that the service sector contributed 55% to GDP in 2014 nationally and 77% to GDP in Surabaya. This is a very large figure considering the current situation of the manufacturing industry, which is actually experiencing negative growth.
This enormous potential needs to be optimized. He proposed several steps for this optimization, including strengthening infrastructure, implementing regulations that improve market access and encourage innovation, intensifying the digitalization of economic activities, and finally, a somewhat debatable one, zero VAT (0% added tax) for service exports.
The final keynote speaker was Ms. Ir. Herliza, who highlighted the role of international trade negotiations in achieving Indonesia's goal of benefiting from the trend of international trade liberalization, particularly in the services sector. (MKM)
