The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the competitiveness issues on three manufacturing sub-sectors in Indonesia, namely the auto parts, garment and personal computer industries. Competitiveness is defined as the ability to compete in international markets. At the present stage of technology maturity, R & D has not been an important factor in affecting the competitiveness of these industries. In general the Indonesian business climate is not conductive to the development of full manufacturing industry and let alone R&D development by electronic industry. Beside the threat of smuggled goods, various tax policies by labor regulations have made it difficult for manufacturing firms to compete with imported goods. In term of conduct, becoming a member of a larger group is very important to penetrate export markets, and thus is very important to boost competitiveness. Another important variable affecting competitiveness is access to financial and capita markets which a major obstacle for firms after the crisis.