Foreign investment in 7.5 months up more than 100%
Foreign investment in 7.5 months up more than 100%
JAKARTA (JP): Foreign investments approved by the government during the first 7.5 months of this year have more than doubled from last year's level of US$8.1 billion, State Minister for Investment Sanyoto Sastrowardoyo said yesterday.
He told a two-day seminar on Indonesia-China trade and investment relations that, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 20, foreign investments reached $15.9 billion for 248 projects.
"We expect that the approved foreign investments will reach $20 billion this year," he said.
However, Sanyoto said that foreign investments approved by the country could not be considered because of Government Regulation No. 20/1994, dated May 19, which allows 100-percent ownership for foreign investors with longer and easier terms of divestment.
He said that most of this year's investments were approved before the launching of the new regulations.
Sanyoto added that he is still waiting for the results of the regulations, popularly known as PP 20, which are intended to boost foreign investment in the country.
He also said that Indonesia had to be ready to provide enough infrastructure to support the realization of the huge investment.
Chinese
The minister announced yesterday that Chinese foreign direct investment to Indonesia had increased rapidly in the last three years.
He said approved Chinese investments in Indonesia reached $81 million for four projects in the first seven months of this year. This far surpassed the approval figures for 1992 and 1993, which recorded $41.5 million (with four projects) and $28.6 million (with 15 projects) respectively.
The cumulative Chinese investment value has now reached $151.1 million in 23 projects, ranking them 22nd among foreign countries investing in Indonesia.
On the other hand, he acknowledged that he had no records on the amount of Indonesian foreign investment in China.
Zhao Chunhua, deputy director general at the Chinese ministry of foreign trade and economic cooperation, denied yesterday that the amount of Indonesian foreign investment in China had reached $100 million. However, he declined to reveal the exact amount.
He admitted that there are suspicions that there have been many Indonesian businessmen investing their money in China.
As a government officer, he said, he was glad if there was an increase of Indonesian foreign direct investment in his country.
However, he added that, "(as) a competent officer in this matter, I should say that we need to build a bilateral cooperation which will benefit both countries."
He added that the foreign investment was no reflection on the situation in Indonesia, it was simply an economic activity with the goal of making a profit.
"For us, the most important thing is that if Indonesians made a profit through their investments in China, they can bring it home with them, with the same understanding applying for the Chinese," he said.
He also said that, currently, his government still holds to its policy of inviting foreign investors to his country rather than encouraging local businessmen to invest abroad. (05)