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