Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. is committed to expanding its business in Indonesia and will back up that commitment with capital, the Investment Coordinating Board chief said on Wednesday. Gita Wirjawan, who heads the board, also known as the BKPM, said Mitsubishi would invest in projects in sectors ranging from automotives and energy to infrastructure. “The total investment plan in the next five to 10 years ... is around $18 billion to $20 billion.

An Energy Ministry official urged legislators on Wednesday to rethink the cabotage law as it could hurt oil and gas production in a nation already straining to keep up with demand. Evita Legowo, director of oil and gas at the ministry, warned members of House of Representatives Commission V, which oversees transportation, that Indonesia’s offshore oil and gas output could plummet if the law were implemented in May.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Indonesia plans to build this year a new food estate for growing rice and rearing cattle in Aceh province on Sumatra island, chief economics minister Hatta Rajasa said on Wednesday, in a move to bolster food security amid rising commodities prices. The government last August launched a 350,000-500,000 hectares (864,900-1.24 million acres) food estate project in Papua in eastern Indonesia, part of which will be allocated for soybean production.

Indonesia's relatively stable political situation and improved economic fundamentals will help the nation attract more investment in 2011, Switzerland-based investment bank UBS says. Indonesia was the only nation in the ASEAN-5, a group comprised of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, that was currently spending more on investment than before the 1997 financial crisis, UBS economist Edward Teather said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched on Feb. 22 a blueprint for the nation’s economic development for the next 14 years. Inside the plan was an ambitious policy to develop economic corridors on the archipelago’s five major islands. The Jakarta Post’s Rendi A. Witular looks into the issue: Balanced regional development propelled by domestic resources was the basic idea behind the economic corridor policy, which was widely praised by local administration officials and businesspeople.

Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Canadian businessmen have become interested in investing in South Sumatra because of its big potentials and opportunities. Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Mackenzie Clugson, and an entourage in a meeting with the South Sumatra Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) here on Tuesday said that the investment climate in the province was very promising.