Canada vows to boost investment

JAKARTA (JP): Canada plans to boost investment in Indonesia to US$5 billion in the coming three years as of this month, Ambassador Lawrence T. Dickenson said yesterday.

"We are planning to increase our investment, especially in the mining and energy sectors, in the next three years," Dickenson told reporters in a meeting with representatives of 40 Canadian mining companies.

He also said that the current total investment of $3 billion was a cumulative amount which was started in the 1960s.

Canada's investment in Indonesia is spearheaded by PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco), which is controlled by a group of Japanese firms and the Canada-based Inco Limited. The firm, which is now listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, engages in nickel mining in a concession area of 218,000 hectares area in southern Sulawesi with investments of over $1.2 billion.

The ambassador declined to elaborate on the specific projects expected to contribute to realizing his projection of an investment increase.

Some of the projects are still in the middle of bidding processes, he said.

Dickenson said that other than mining and energy, several leading Canadian hotel companies, including the Four Season and Regent, will soon realize their investments in Jakarta.

He also said the upcoming informal summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, of which both Indonesia and Canada are members, will facilitate trade and investment relations between the two countries even more. (hdj)