Ininvex '99 eyes 30,000 visitors
JAKARTA (JP): A major exhibition promoting investment in Indonesia to be held in Singapore next month is expected to draw some 30,000 visitors, including 6,000 prospective foreign investors and buyers, the organizers said on Wednesday.
The International Indonesian Investment Exhibition '99 (Ininvex '99) at the Raffles City Convention Center in Singapore on Dec. 12-15 is aimed at reversing the decline in foreign investment in the last two years.
Andi M. Djabir, president of event organizer PT Appronusa, said around 40 participants - private and state companies as well as provincial administrations -- have registered to take part in the four-day exhibition.
State enterprises which have confirmed their participation include telecommunication company PT Indosat, fertilizer company PT Pupuk Kaltim and surveyor company PT Sucofindo, Andi said.
He expected there would be at least 70 participants by the time the exhibition began next month.
The amount of foreign investment in Indonesia continued to decline this year, in sharp contrast to most other main economic indicators which have shown some improvement.
The value of foreign investment approved by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in the first half of 1999 reached 1.88 billion, representing a 77 percent plunge over the past year.
BKPM, which processes all non-oil and non-bank investment projects, approved $13.6 billion worth of investments in 1998, down from $33.83 billion in 1997, the year the crisis began.
Andi said Singapore had been chosen to host the event partly to address the concerns of prospective investors worried about social unrest in Indonesia.
Ininvex '99 will highlight investment opportunities in a number of state companies which are in the process of being privatized.
The exhibition will open with a seminar on Indonesia's economic situation, featuring State Minister of Investment and State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi as its keynote speaker.
Other symposiums will review Indonesia's foreign investment policy, the government's economic stabilization program and the political and security situation in Indonesia. (03)