Govt urged to resolve high cost economy

Govt urged to resolve high cost economy

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A number of Japanese investors complained to the Minister of
Industry Andung A. Nitimihardja over obstacles in investing in
the country, which led to a high cost economy and turned away
potential investors.

"Although overall the country's investment climate has
improved, there are still a number of problems that need to be
resolved by the new government," said Yoshihiro Koki, the
president director of PT Megapolis Manunggal Industrial
Development (MMID), on Friday.

Koki expressed his concerns to Andung, during the minister's
visit to the MM2100 industrial area in Cikarang, Bekasi, as
reported by Antara.

The problems include the lack of infrastructure such as roads,
ports and telecommunication facilities, while at the same time
investors had to deal with bureaucratic red tape both in the
central and local governments, illegal fees, and local "mafia,"
he explained.

"All these problems result in a high cost economy, which makes
it hard for us to compete with other companies investing in other
countries," Koki said.

Andung said that the new government was determined to quickly
resolve the problems faced by investors.

"The government is committed to improving the welfare of the
nation, therefore we take investment problems very seriously," he
said.

The new government is under pressure to attract new
investment, which is crucial to accelerate economic growth and to
curb unemployment.

According to Koki, there are 182 firms from various countries
in the MM2100 industrial area, which was first opened in 1990.

Out of the 182 companies, he said, 137 firms were fully
operational, 13 were still developing their sites and the
remaining 32 were still in the stage of preparation.

Japanese firms dominated the area with 104 companies, followed
by 46 local companies and 32 companies from various other
countries.

"The other countries include South Korea, Taiwan, Spain and
the Philippines," Koki said.

Furthermore, he said that the investment value of the 137
firms reached US$3.4 billion.

"Our target by the end of 2008 is to have 210 companies
investing in the area. Therefore, we urged the government to
tackle the problems faced by investors seriously," he said.