FDI falls by 26%, BKPM says
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Approved foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 26 percent to US$5.75 billion between January and August this year compared to the same period last year, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) said on Wednesday.
The board said in a statement that the number of FDI projects also fell by 8.9 percent to 872 projects compared to the same period last year, which saw 950 projects approved.
In spite of the lower FDI, the value of approved domestic investment jumped by 67 percent to Rp 43.93 trillion (about $4.43 billion) as of August this year compared to Rp 26.34 trillion during the same period last year.
The number of projects approved, however, fell to 161 projects compared to 234 projects approved between January and August last year.
The BKPM said that during the first eight months of the year, sectors which had attracted foreign direct investment were the trade and repair sector which brought in 300 projects, the services sector which brought in 147 projects, and the base metal, metal products, machinery and electronics sector which attracted 72 projects.
In terms of value, approved FDI projects in the chemical, chemical products and pharmaceuticals sector were valued at $1.71 billion, projects in the paper, paper products and printing sector $726.1 million, and projects in the base metal, metal products, machinery and electronics sectors $463.8 million.
The FDI projects with export potential totaled 234 and were valued at $6.4 billion, the BKPM said.
The BKPM did not state the realization figures for the projects.
The top foreign investors as of August 2001 came from Saudi Arabia with three projects worth $1.5 billion, Singapore with 101 projects worth $1.05 billion, the United Kingdom with 50 projects worth $564.2 billion, and Japan with 66 projects worth $544.7 billion.
They were followed by Malaysia with 59 projects worth $543.3 billion, South Korea with 193 projects worth $294.4 billion, Australia with 34 projects worth $206.8 billion, and the United States with 24 projects valued at $63.9 billion.