American investors told to stay away

American investors told to stay away

U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce has advised
American investors not to make any new investments in Indonesia
until the investment and security climate improves.

Speaking before foreign correspondents and businessmen in
Jakarta on Tuesday, Boyce said he had been telling potential
American investors interested in Indonesia that "they should wait
for the government's announced program of economic reforms to
begin to show some signs of being implemented in a more rapid
fashion".

He noted that there were "a lot of reforms still to be
addressed, in the judicial area, in the legal area, the financial
sector and the corporate sector, etc. before a responsible
foreign investor could consider of making significant new
commitments here.

"Privately, I don't need to tell American investors about
that. They already know it," he said.

He acknowledged that once American investors came to
Indonesia, they would see that there were a lot of attractive
investment potential.

"But in the absence of the implementation of the government's
own announced program of reforms, I think they are very much on
the sidelines."

In addition, he said the security situation in Indonesia was
not yet conducive for investment, and the U.S. government would
continue to maintain its travel warnings for American citizens
not to travel to Indonesia unless necessary.

Therefore, he urged the Indonesian government to expedite the
pace of reforms in various sectors and improve security in the
country so that it would make it conducive for investment. -- JP