Endowed with rich natural resources and a large population, Indonesia is becoming more attractive for investors as indicated by an increase in the number of realized direct investment projects involving foreign businesspeople. Chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Muhammad Lutfi said Wednesday actual domestic and foreign investment had reached US$14.2 billion in the January to November period, higher than the full-year target of $9.92 billion.

The government is considering to mandate and set aside an allotted space for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in special economic zones (SEZs) under a new draft law. Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said Wednesday in a House of Representatives hearing it was necessary to provide MSME zones in SEZs to stimulate the economy of the region in which the SEZ is situated.

Teguh Prasetyo & Sally Piri Despite the slowing world economy, Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Wednesday encouraged businesses not to delay long-term investments, especially projects that would be completed in two to three years and could benefit from a recovery boom once the global financial turmoil subsides. Kalla said that now was the best time to invest as the prices of everything from steel to machinery have fallen as much as 50 percent from last year.

Muhamad Al Azhari In a report released on Wednesday, the World Bank said Indonesia’s economic growth rate could slow to 4.4 percent next year from 6 percent in 2008, assuming a prolonged global economic recession affecting both investment and exports. That forecast, contained in the bank’s Indonesia Quarterly Economic Update, is slightly more pessimistic than the 4.5 percent to 6 percent growth estimate put forth by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati earlier this month.

Foreign governments and business people are becoming alarmed that Indonesia’s policies to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis are creating trade barriers that violate World Trade Organisation obligations, despite its promises to abstain from protectionism. Diplomats and executives do not believe there is a “grand plan” but rather that an absence of co-ordinated ­policy-making is giving nationalist officials free rein to pander to anti-foreigner domestic interests.

A delegation of business leaders from Canada held a meeting in Surabaya on Wednesday with entrepreneurs from East Java in a bid to look into possible joint business ventures. The meeting, called the Canada-East Java Business Forum, was part of a 3-day itinerary the Canadian Embassy organized to the region led by Canada's Ambassador to Indonesia John Holmes, kompas.com reported. Other events included visits to several factories in the province.

Achmad Syafriel, Analyst We attended the 2009 Indonesian Palm Oil Conference and Price Outlook in Nusa Dua, Bali, last week with plenty of participants not only from palm oil companies, but also from different sectors connected to the palm oil industry such as fertilizer producers and investment banks. But what a difference a year can make. When we attended the very same conference a year earlier, the speakers were all extremely bullish on the outlook on the crude palm oil (CPO) price.