Government vows to set up crisis investment team<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Apparently shocked by the planned pullout of Japanese
\nelectronic giant Sony Corp., the government vowed on Thursday to
\nwork very hard to solve the various problems faced by the
\nexisting investors to prevent them from leaving the country too.<\/p>\n
\"Our top priority now is to maintain the existing investors.
\nWe will hear all their complaints and provide solutions as fast
\nas possible,\" Theo F Toemion, chairman of the Investment
\nCoordinating Board (BKPM), told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said the government would soon establish a special
\ncommittee called the National Investment Team, which comprises
\nall Cabinet members with President Megawati Soekarnoputri as
\nchairperson.<\/p>\n
With the establishment of the committee, the government
\nexpects to be able to address all the problems faced by foreign
\ninvestors more quickly and effectively, Theo said.<\/p>\n
Today, investors have to file their complaints with several
\nministers and the complaints remain unsolved for long periods of
\ntime due to the lack of coordination among ministries.<\/p>\n
\"In the special team, Ibu Megawati will be directly involved
\nin addressing investors' problem,\" Theo said, adding that the
\nPresident was really concerned with the country's battered
\ninvestment climate and would declare 2003 as Indonesia Investment
\nYear.<\/p>\n
Theo, who has been appointed secretary of the team, said that
\nany efforts by the government to maintain the existing investors
\nwould not be effective unless all segments of the society took
\npart in creating a conducive climate for investors to continue
\ntheir operations in the country.<\/p>\n
Among the protracted problems faced by both foreign and
\ndomestic investors are labor conflicts, high taxes and rampant
\nsmuggling.<\/p>\n
Investors have also long been complaining about security
\nproblems, poor implementation of the autonomy law and the absence
\nof a credible legal system.<\/p>\n
These have discouraged new foreign investors from entering the
\ncountry, and prompted existing investors to move their operation
\nto other countries, such as China and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
The Oct. 12 Bali bombing and the temporary closure of several
\ninternational schools in Jakarta following bomb threats has
\nfurther heightened the perception that Indonesia is not a safe
\nplace for expatriate businesspeople or their families.<\/p>\n
The bombshell announcement by Sony on Tuesday that it would
\nclose up shop next year has shocked many people and forced some
\nofficials to start thinking about the difficult situations faced
\nby most investors.<\/p>\n
\"This is the right time for us to solve their (investors)
\nproblems, we don't want more Sony cases to happen in this
\ncountry,\" Theo said.<\/p>\n
Aside from establishing the special team, Theo said, the
\ngovernment would set up a \"one-roof\" service to speed up
\ninvestment licensing procedures in an attempt to cut down on some
\nof the bureaucratic congestion currently involved the process.
\nThe service should allow potential investors to get their
\nlicenses within six days.<\/p>\n
The government may also offer other incentives to attract new
\ninvestors to the country.<\/p>\n
\"We are considering the provision of incentives, such as
\ntaxes, and equal treatment,\" he said, but he did not provide
\ndetails.<\/p>\n
The government is planning to submit a new investment bill to
\nthe House of Representatives for deliberation.<\/p>\n
The new investment bill will replace Law No.1\/1967 on foreign
\ninvestment and Law No.6\/1968 on domestic investment. The proposed
\nbill also aims to ensure equal government treatment to foreign
\nand domestic investors.<\/p>\n
Indonesia badly needs foreign investment to increase economic
\ngrowth so that many of the 40 million unemployed workers can
\nreturn to work.<\/p>\n
However, investment, both foreign and domestic, has continued
\nto decline over the past several years.<\/p>\n
BKPM data shows that foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals
\ndropped by 11 percent to US$5.4 billion through September of this
\nyear from $6.08 billion in the same period last year.<\/p>\n
Domestic investment approvals dropped even steeper by some 70
\npercent to Rp 15.99 trillion (about $1.6 billion) in the first
\nthree quarters of 2002, from Rp 50.74 trillion in the same period
\nlast year.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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