Gorontalo (ANTARA News) - Besides Japanese and Malaysian, an Australian investor has also expressed interest in cooperation in the mining sector in Gorontalo province. Brian, the Australian investor, said here on Wednesday he would like to invest in the mining sector in Gorontalo because the province had a lot of gold deposits which had yet to be exploited. "If the Gorontalo provincial administration accepts our offer, we will in the near future invest in this sector here," Brian said.

Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Heavy equipment sales in Indonesia are forecast to rise 25 per cent to 9,000 units this year with growing demand mainly from the mining and plantation sectors. Improved prices of mining and plantation commodities in the world market resulted in brisker activities in the plantation and mining industries pushing up demand for heavy equipment, the association of heavy equipment companies said.

Foreign direct investment, which makes up the bulk of direct investments each year, fell 27.2 percent in value last year as total cumulative investment only stood at Rp 97.38 trillion (US$10.82 billion) by the end of December. Approximately 40 percent of total foreign investment came from Singapore, followed by the Netherlands with 11 percent, Japan with 6 percent, South Korea with 5.8 percent, the UK with 3.4 percent and the rest from other countries.

Association of Indonesian Businesspeople (Apindo) chairman Sofyan Wanandi said Thursday the existing labor law had discouraged investment in labor-intensive industries. "We in Apindo have tried to help attract investment in the labor-intensive industry. But labor-intensive industry do not come because of this law," Sofyan said during Apindo's 58th anniversary. He further said that the government must take the initiative to amend the labor law, which had created labor rigidity in the country.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Recapital Securities Research Division chief, Poltak Hotradero is of the opinion that toll road infrastructure is the most expensive investment in Indonesia. The highest cost must be spent on land release. “This is a classic problem, but must be resolved soon,” he told the press yesterday, adding that this was the reason why construction of toll roads has been stagnant since the 1970s.

TEMPO Interactive, Tangerang:Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said there seems to be a tendency for shoe manufacturers in China to relocate to Indonesia. The strengthening Chinese yuan can be one reason for this, along with the increasing cost of manpower and its regulations in China. “This is a permanent trend,” Mari said yesterday in Tangerang, Banten. Major shoe producers like Nike, Adidas, and New Balance, have relocated their shoe purchases from China to Vietnam and Indonesia.

Thursday, 28 January, 2010 | 15:16 WIB TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Foreign property ownership will be extended from 25 years to 70 years. “The regulations formulation is completed. It only waits for the Housing Minister stamp,” said Lucy Rumantir, Jones Lang LaSalle Indonesia Chairman, in a press conference at the Nikko Hotel in Jakarta, yesterday.

Officials Throw Lombok Project A Final Lifeline by Janeman Latul Local and central government officials are mounting a last-ditch attempt to salvage a giant resort plan for Lombok that all but collapsed earlier this month. The West Nusa Tenggara government and the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) now say they will give Dubai-based developer Emaar Properties until March to commit to the massive resort project.

Foreign direct investment, which makes up the bulk of direct investments each year, fell 27.2 percent in value last year as total cumulative investment only stood at Rp 97.38 trillion (US$10.82 billion) by the end of December. Approximately 40 percent of total foreign investment came from Singapore, followed by the Netherlands with 11 percent, Japan with 6 percent, South Korea with 5.8 percent, the UK with 3.4 percent and the rest from other countries.

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Representatives for US businesses have approached Indonesian government to persuade the government to produce more supportive investment policies in different field of business before deciding larger investments in the Indonesia.