Foreign investment projects up 20%, value down 25%

Foreign investment projects up 20%, value down 25%

JAKARTA (JP): The government approved 959 foreign direct
investment projects between Jan. 1 and Dec. 15 this year, up 20
percent on the same period last year, but the value dropped 25
percent to US$29.9 billion.

State Minister of Investment/Chairman of the Investment
Planning Board Sanyoto Sastrowardoyo said this yesterday after
meeting President Soeharto at the Bina Graha presidential office.

Sanyoto said the value of licensed foreign investment projects
last year had been unusually high because of eight huge oil
refinery projects.

"We don't have such large projects this year," he said, adding
that the projects licensed this year included plants relocated
from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

By Dec. 15, 810 domestic investment projects worth Rp 100.7
trillion (US$43.78 billion) had been approved.

"This is the first time the value of domestic investment
approvals in a year has exceeded Rp 100 trillion... But, like in
previous years, only 46 percent of licensed domestic and foreign
investments have been realized," he said.

Sanyoto said the government had approved 12 oil refinery
projects last year but none had started.

Sanyoto said that in the first three years of the Sixth Five-
Year Development Plan, which started in 1994, licensed domestic
investments reached Rp 207 trillion while foreign investments
totaled $94.3 billion.

"This means the value of investments approved in the three
years has exceeded what we licensed throughout the Fifth Five-
Year Development Program," he said.

During the Fifth Five-Year Development Program, the value of
domestic investment approvals reached Rp 200 trillion while
foreign investment approvals totaled $44.1 billion.

"Although we know the realization of projects reached only 50
percent of the licensed commitments, it must be understood that
our target for the current Sixth Five-Year Development Plan is Rp
44 trillion a year," he said.

Since the New Order government's accession in 1969, Japan has
ranked as the largest foreign investor with 919 projects worth
$34.6 billion, followed by the United Kingdom with 217 projects
worth $30 billion and Hong Kong with 358 projects worth $18.6
million.

ASEAN countries' investment in Indonesia made up 20 percent of
cumulative foreign investment and members of the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation forum make up 59.8 percent.

From ASEAN countries, Singapore ranks first with 14.8 billion
worth of investments, followed by Malaysia with $3.9 billion,
Thailand with $2.3 billion, the Philippines with $439 million and
Brunei with $178 million. (pwn)