Jakarta, Feb. 10 -- The manufacturing industry has consistently remained the backbone of the Indonesian economy for a long time now.

Last year, the export value of the manufacturing industry reached USD196.54 billion, making up 74.25 percent of the total national exports of USD264.70 billion.

The realization of manufacturing industry investment stood at Rp721.3 trillion (around USD44.1 billion), accounting for 42.1 percent of the total investment realization of Rp1,714.2 trillion.

In addition, the non-oil and gas processing industry recorded a growth of 4.75 percent, with the total national economic growth reaching 5.03 percent.

The domestic manufacturing industry is not only facing external challenges, such as the influx of imported ...