Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Nestle SA, the world’s largest food company, will invest $100 million in Indonesia to make Milo chocolate-flavored products and Cerelac weaning formula as purchasing power grows in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The company’s factory in West Java will be ready by the end of 2012 and initially employ about 300 people, PT Nestle Indonesia President Director Arshad Chaudhry said in an embargoed interview in Jakarta on Dec. 6.

Even though the country’s manufacturers are expected to nearly double their growth this year, the business community remains critical of infrastructure problems that are increasing production costs and creating bottlenecks. According to the Ministry of Industry, the manufacturing sector is forecast to experience growth of 4.9 percent this year, almost double the 2.6 percent growth recorded last year.

A lack of information is stymieing the Indonesian government's plans to auction off oil and gas fields, a senior official of the energy and mineral resources ministry said. Only three of 14 fields offered by the government this year had attracted investors, oil and gas director general Evita Herawati Legowo, said on Monday.

JAKARTA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Securities analyst said Indonesia will remain one of the world's most attractive destinations for global portfolio investment thanks to the country's healthy economic growth, the local daily Jakarta Post reported Thursday. Matthew Brown, head of Citi's Asia Pacific Fund Services, said at a seminar on market outlook held here, that Indonesia's overall economy showed a significant growth opportunity, which made it an attractive destination for foreign funds.