Indonesia seeks more Japanese investment

Indonesia seeks more Japanese investment

OSAKA (Kyodo): Indonesia on Saturday called for Japanese businesses to expand investment in the country as part of efforts to nurture "supporting industries" there.

"We want more Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises to come to Indonesia, especially the makers of autos and electronic parts," Indonesia's Industry Minister Tunky Ariwibowo said in an interview with Kyodo News Service.

"This is a most opportune time, as we are giving a lot of attention to expanding our supplier industries," said Ariwibowo, who is in Osaka to attend a two-day conference on small companies, which will begin Saturday evening under the sponsorship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Ariwibowo said Indonesia removed "all entry-level barriers" to foreign investment in May.

"Japanese companies are operating profitably. They are also finding that Indonesia is very serious about deregulation and reduction of bureaucracy to improve the business environment," he said.

Ariwibowo said that as a next step Indonesia is also prepared to reduce both tariff and non-tariff barriers, as this "will make our industries more efficient."

According to Ariwibowo, Japanese corporations comprise the biggest group of investors in Indonesia's manufacturing sector, with their cumulative investment worth over US$8 billion, almost one-third of the total foreign investment in the country.

"Industrial cooperation between Indonesia and Japan has been positive and productive. The logical next step is cooperation in the sector of small and medium enterprises," he said.