Many would agree that a city tour cum shopping in the very heart of Jakarta on a busy working day is unthinkable by reason of the traffic alone. The Indonesian traffic police were however at hand and their outriders which accompanied the tour bus throughout the tour made weaving through the Jakarta traffic a breeze. The tour took the participants to the National Museum, Old Harbour of Sunda Kelapa, Fatahillah Square and Museum and shopping!

Unfortunately the golf game could not take off because of lack of response. Could it be that the golfers did not realise that travelling to the golf course would have been similarly unproblematic? Or, perhaps the morning first contact tea party had already warmed the participants up for their meetings given that an advanced participants list had already been provided prior this first day?

Cocktail Reception
The cocktail reception took place in the evening of the first day in the ballroom of Shangri-la Jakarta. Against the background of a traditional ensemble, the delegates mingled once again, enjoying and preparing themselves for the days ahead.

In the days ahead and for the first time in APCA conferences, speakers from the host country as well as the international arena, will dominate throughout the two full-day proceedings.

23 October Proceedings
The first day conference proceedings began with an overview of the countertrade and offset policies of Indonesia presented by Mr. Djoko Moeljono, Director General for International Trade of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Mr. Salomo Panjaitan, President and CEO of IPTN-Europe.

His Excellency, Prof. Dr. Soedradjad Djiwandono the Governor of the Bank of Indonesia who was called off unexpectedly to attend to officials from the International Monetary Fund, had his speech read on his behalf.

The latter part of the morning was spent on a regional update with Mr. David Hew, Secretary General, APCA as moderator. Countries covered were Malaysia, by Mr. Syariwal Johannes Romer, Chairman, Germalkota Sdn Bhd, Thailand by Khun Thawiwan Chinkrua, Senior Trade Expert, Department of Foreign Trade, China, by Dr. Pompiliu Verzariu and India, by Mr. David Wolf, President, Fremont Group.

The lunch speaker was Mr. Hashim Djojohadikusumo, Chairman, Tirtamas Group, who spoke on "Financial Institutions as Intermediaries for Trade".

The first speaker in the afternoon session was Dr. Christoph Kamm, President, APCA and Vice President, ABB Project & Trade Finance, Switzerland whose topic was "Industries' Answer to Pressure on Investment, Technology Transfer, Joint Venture and Cooperation in Global Offset Trends". He was followed by a speech on "Financing Trade and Investment in Russia" by Mr. Igor Souvorov, Chairman, Moscow Narodny Bank of the Russian Federation. Our Central Europe excursion continued with a speech by the former Croatian Minister of Economy and now General Director of INA - Petroleum Industry, Zagreb, Croatia.

The first day's proceedings concluded with a panel discussion chaired by Mr. Asghar Mehdi comprising Mr. Davor Stern, Mr. Igor Souvorov, Mr. Jonathan Bell, Specialised Finance Editor, Project & Trade Finance, Euromoney Publication and Mr. Mikhail Kouritsyn, Director General Prima Comexindo (Russia) Moscow.

23 October Poolside Barbecue
The participants turned in their suits and ties for an evening of leisure and barbecue by the Shangri-la poolside. It was an enchanting evening of good food and good entertainment provided by a bamboo orchestra. The participants were each given a bamboo instrument and after a short lesson, everyone joined in and became members of the bamboo orchestra!

24 October Proceedings
Mr. Pompiliu Verzariu, Director of the Financial Services and Countertrade Division of the International Trade Administration, United States Department of Commerce kicked off the second day's proceedings with his speech on "The Role of Offsets in Economic Development". He was followed by Mr. Gilles Charveriat, Consultant Manager, ACECO Paris, France who spoke on the "Critical Factors behind Successful Offset Strategies". A most entertaining speech "Developing Trade Relationship between Southeast Asia and Africa" was delivered subsequently by Mr. Siyanga Malumo, Managing Director, Africana Finance & Investments, Pretoria, South Africa. The morning's proceedings broke for Firday's prayer after this speech.

The lunch time speaker for the second day was Mr. Aburizal Bakrie, Chairman, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Chairman of the Bakrie group of Companies. Mr. Bakrie's topic was "The Role of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Facilitating International Trade."

The bankers were the stars for the afternoon sessions. Mr. Alan Linger, Assistant General Manager, Standard Bank London Ltd spoke on the subject of "International Trade Development in Developing Countries"; Dr. Maarten Gros, Senior Vice President Westdeutsche Landesbank, Dusseldorf, Germany on "Financial Structuring of Reciprocal Trade and Dr. Christian Katz, Senior Manager, London Forfaiting Company, United Kingdom on "Managing Financial Risks in Emerging Markets".

Gala Dinner
The Gala dinner with cultural performance was hosted by the Vice Governor of Jakarta at the Candi Bentar, Ancol. It was a night of traditional cuisine where little eating stalls serving very unique delicacies were strewn out in the open for the participants to patronise. There was just so much to eat that we were all spoilt for choices.

Although cultural entertainment was provided by our host country, Indonesia, the participants from various countries were requested to do a number from their respective countries. Our friends from Thailand in addition to their Thai rendition used the opportunity to extend a very warm invitation to the participants to visit Thailand for APCA '98 in 1998.

Business Matchmaking and Private Meeting Facilities
Running concurrently with the main conference was our usual table-top business matchmaking and bilateral meetings facilities. The speakers' programmes were however so intensive that we observed and received feedback that these bilateral meetings and facilities were under-utilised.

As a consequence of this experience, APCA '98 will ensure that sufficient time will be provided for bilateral meetings.

Farewell APCA '97
APCA '97 had all the ingredients which made for a successful conference. A great deal of knowledge was exchanged between the host country and the participants and between the participants themselves; there were many opportunities to network among some major players in the countertrade and offset business and there were also very good local food and entertainment.

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