Jakarta shuns investment by big industries
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta has turned down investments of big industries which require a large plot of land and waste treatment plants in its bid to become a "service city", an official said yesterday.
"There are still many sectors open to investment, including light industry, such as the garment and electronic industries, tourism, construction, transportation, department stores, and so on," Subana Kusika, newly-appointed deputy to the head of the BKPMD (Municipal Investment Coordinating Board) told the Jakarta Post and Sinar Pagi yesterday.
In dealing with the offer of big industry investment, the city administration, Kusika said, has cooperated with the West Java provincial administration which will provide the plots under a revenue-sharing scheme.
The municipality is entitled to some portion of the revenue, said Kusika, because the industries in one way or another use the city's services, including ports, infrastructures to the location, etc.
"Negotiations are underway as to how both regions will share the revenues," said Kusika.
Meanwhile, the latest records available at the board reveal investment by both local and foreign businesses in Jakarta slowed down during the fiscal year 1993/1994.
The records show a mere five new investments by foreign business in the period, bringing the total to 768 from 1967 through March 1994.
There were 763 foreign investments up to 1993, compared to 572 investments up to 1991.
This means there was an average rise of 95.5 foreign investments per year between 1991 and 1993
The records also reveal there were 16 new investment by local businessmen in 1993/1994, bringing the total of local investment in Jakarta from 1967 through March 1994 to 1,117.
There were 1,161 local investments up to 1993, compared to 939 investments up to 1991, meaning that there was an average rise of 111 investments per year between 1991 and 1993.
Kusika said he has yet to study whether the sharp decline in the number of both local and foreign investments resulted from the policy of rejecting big industries.
"There are some facts which hint that the city already has enough investments. Some pharmaceutical industries created through foreign investment, for example, are now on the verge of bankruptcy. We have yet to find the reasons why," said Kusika.
The latest records further reveal that Japan tops the list of foreign investors with a total of 184 projects worth US$3.20 billion from 1967 through March, 31, 1994.
Japan is followed by Hong Kong with 95 projects worth $1.45 billion and Singapore with 54 projects worth $1.01 billion in the same period.
Next are the Netherlands with 40 projects worth $898 million, Germany with 21 projects worth $412 million and the USA with 34 projects worth $343 million.
They are followed by England with 34 projects worth $313 million, Australia with 35 projects worth $187 million and South Korea with 57 projects worth $116 million. (jsk)