‘Ireland risks losing key Asia market’

Ireland needs to devote diplomatic and business development resources to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta or risk being excluding from one of the world’s fastest- growing economies, warns one of the country’s leading promoters of Irish-Asian business links.

Martin Murray, executive director of the Asia Pacific Ireland Business Forum, said Ireland needs to open an embassy in Jakarta and allocate greater Enterprise Ireland resources to properly compete with exports from other EU states.

Mr Murray said: “Irish exports to Asia account for a little over 4% of our total exports. The EU27 average is closer to 23%. Irish companies are making inroads in Asia. However, over 90% of Ireland’s exports are from multinationals based here. We need to grow our exports from indigenous companies.