Center for German firms to open in Serpong
Center for German firms to open in Serpong
TANGERANG (JP): A center for small and medium German companies
will open next year in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, about 25
kilometers west of Jakarta.
The German Center for Industry and Trade will be the second of
its kind set up in Asia after Singapore.
A ground-breaking ceremony for the center, called the German
House in Indonesian, was held on the 1.6-hectare plot in Serpong
on Tuesday.
"The German Center will form a bridge between German and
Indonesian entrepreneurs," Walter Doering, Economics Minister and
President of Baden-Wuerttemberg, one of Germany's 16 federal
states, said Tuesday.
German envoy Heinrich Seemann and Minister of Education and
Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro attended the ceremony with Regent
Saifullah Abdurrahman.
Minister Doering was accompanied by a delegation of business
people.
The center is intended to be a one-stop service for small and
medium German companies. It is financed by Landeskreditbank
Baden-Wuerttemberg.
The bank, called L-Bank for short, claims to be one of
Germany's 20 largest banks. It was represented by the Deputy
Chairman of its board, Christian Brand.
The German Center was initiated by the German government and
L-Bank.
Indonesia was said to be an attractive, growing market, "but
German investments account for only three percent of total
foreign investment in Indonesia," L-Bank said.
Investment for the center, scheduled for completion in October
1998, is around US$32 million. The eight-stories, including the
basement, will give 2.49 hectares of space, 1.7 hectares will be
leased out on two-year-minimum contracts.
Doering said the first center in Singapore was "a success
story", and it catered to 130 German companies.
"Sixty more companies want to join," Doering said.
Envoy Seemann said the German Center would be the third
facility representing Germany in Serpong. Earlier he officiated
at a ground-breaking ceremony for the Deutsche Schule, which will
move from Menteng, Central Jakarta.
The German Technopark will also open in Serpong, Seemann said.
Brand thanked the authorities for their quick service in
granting permits for the center.
"We applied for permits last October and now we have begun
digging. This is very quick compared to (time required) in Baden-
Wuerttemberg," he said.
A source who requested anonymity said Serpong was chosen
because land prices for the alternative site, Jagakarsa in South
Jakarta, were too high.
"Jagakarsa is near Kemang, where land prices are high because
of the international community there," the alumni from Germany
said.
The center will be constructed by PT Econ Construction and
supervised by ICM of Germany. Fifty percent of the materials
will be imported from Germany. Construction costs are estimated
at $686 per square meter.
Doering said the center was important for Baden-Wuerttemberg,
which he said was very dependent on exports.
Seemann said the state, his "hometown," was one of the
foremost states in establishing business links abroad. (anr)