French slow to exploit business opportunities
French slow to exploit business opportunities
JAKARTA (JP): French investors acknowledged yesterday that
they lag behind in business opportunities in Indonesia.
A deputy director of the confederation of French industrial
and service companies (CNPF), Jean Dromer, said here yesterday
that French investors are mostly unaware of the huge business
opportunities in Indonesia.
"I think this is the main reason why the size of French
investments in Indonesia is still smaller than those of Germany
and Britain," he told journalists.
He said that Indonesia's foreign investment policy is very
encouraging to foreign investors, particularly after the
government launched its deregulation measures in May last year.
He saw no significant problems either in licensing procedures
or in the taxation system in Indonesia.
Dromer was one of approximately 250 French businessmen
attending a two-day seminar on investment opportunities
yesterday. The seminar participants also included Paul-Henri
Denieuil, chairman of the French national committee for foreign
trade.
Dromer said the trend of French overseas investments is
changing, with many French companies now turning to Asian
countries for their future expansion.
He said that the presence of the 250 French executives in the
seminar reflected the change in the French investors' perception
about doing businesses in Indonesia.
The value of French investments in Indonesia totals
approximately US$1.2 billion at present, excluding about $1
billion in the oil industry and another $200 million in the
banking industry. France, the world's fourth largest investor,
ranked the 14th in the lineup of foreign investors in Indonesia,
behind Britain and Germany.
Too low
Jean-Michel Severyns, the residential director of GEC Alsthom
in Indonesia, said that French investments in Indonesia are, in
fact, too low given the large size of its total investments in
the world.
He said, however, that French direct investments in Indonesia
would likely grow more rapidly in the coming years as a result of
the positive change in the mentality of French investors.
"The trend is changing and we want to speed it up," he said
about the growing interest of French businessmen in investing in
Indonesia.
CNPF executives, the sponsors of the seminar, were scheduled
to visit senior government officials, including Coordinating
Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto and Coordinating
Minister for Economy and Finance Saleh Afiff, during their
Indonesian visit.
Dromer said the CNPF representatives would not raise any
particular topics during the meeting. "We just want to express
our intention to benefit the business opportunities in
Indonesia," he said.(hen)