City eyes one-stop investment service

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.