City eyes one-stop investment service
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta administration aims to provide a one-stop service for investors operating in the capital by preparing a new bylaw on investment in an effort to cut down on bureaucracy, the governor said.
"We are doing our utmost to lure investors to place their money here. We are now preparing the bylaw on investment that simplifies the extended procedures under a one-stop service," Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso told a business delegation from Greece on Thursday during a luncheon at City Hall.
The delegation, accompanied by Indonesian Ambassador to Greece Faisha Soeftendy, is participating in the Export Products Exhibition at the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
The Greek capital of Athens became a sister city to Jakarta in 2001.
Sutiyoso admitted the prevailing administrative procedures for investment involved piles of paperwork and red tape.
"This weakness must be corrected. Jakarta must be an example for other provinces in the nation."
He promised that, under the new system, investors would be able to obtain all necessary documents quickly from relevant city agencies through a joint desk in charge of investment.
Jakarta Legal Office head Deded Sukandar said the draft of the bylaw was undergoing discussion by City Council.
"Hopefully, the new councillors will deliberate and pass it immediately. Perhaps we can start its implementation by next year," he said.
Sutiyoso said the potential for investment in the city was promising. "This year, we have approved foreign direct investment of US$864.5 million through 288 projects," he added.
In 2001, foreign direct investment in the capital hovered at $609 million, plunging sharply in 2002 to only $42.92 million in the aftermath of the Bali bombing. The attack on the resort island has been blamed for driving investors away from the country as well as the city.
The investment figure from last year -- when another bomb ripped through the five-star JW Marriott Hotel in the Kuningan business district -- was not available.
Jakarta Investment Board head Muzhahiem Mokthar said the administration would prioritize investment that sought to develop service sectors aside from trade, tourism and certain industrial sectors, in line with the plan to make Jakarta "a service city".
The capital has placed service sectors as a top priority, since it has very few natural resources to contribute to its revenue.
Any increase in investment will generate job opportunities, which will, in turn, help absorb a skyrocketing unemployment of 560,000 people in the city.
The 10 biggest investing countries in Jakarta are Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, South Korea and France.