More than 50 Chinese shoemakers will shift their factories to Indonesia because of anti-dumping duty levied by European Union on them.

Chinese shoemakers are moving their factories to Indonesia only to avoid anti-dumping charges as EU Commission stated that both countries footwear products offer much less competitiveness, said Eddy Widjanarko, Chairman of the association of shoe makers (Aprisindo).

Till now 3,000 shoe factories have been closed as they have not received orders since the implementation of anti-dumping charges.

Eddy Widjanarko informed that 1,000 factories in Wenchou, 1,500 in Jian Zhou and 300 in Shenzhen have been closed.

He also added that this shift will benefit Indonesian shoemakers as it would generate 50,000 new jobs in Indonesia.

Eddy said that already eight Chinese companies moving their operations to the country, including six involving a US$40 million investment in East Java. The other two factories are in Jakarta and Serang with a total investment of US$35 million.

Around 20 Chinese shoemaking companies are to visit Indonesia in July to observe viability of industrial estate.

Indonesia exported 150 million pairs of shoes valued at US$1.5 billion last year.

This year exports are expected to rise by at least 20 percent, another official of the association said.