Kalla on business trip to China, Japan

The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Vice President Jusuf Kalla will meet noted businessmen in China and Japan this week as part of an effort to lure investment from the two countries by providing more detailed and updated information on business conditions in Indonesia.

The visit is also a follow-up to several agreements made by businessmen and governments from the two countries with Indonesia during an earlier visit by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Kalla is scheduled to fly to China early on Tuesday for a two- day business trip to open a seminar and exhibition on investment and trade opportunities in Indonesia, which is being held by the Indonesian Ministry of Trade and a number of business lobby groups.

The following day, he will meet with chief executive officers from Export-Import Bank of China, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), China International Trust and Investment Corp. (CITIC) and China Huadian Corporation.

Kalla will also meet China's Vice President Zeng Qinghong to talk about bilateral trade, which is expected to reach US$30 billion over the next five years.

China is Indonesia's fourth biggest export destination. Last year's total bilateral trade amounted to over US$8.7 billion, with an annual growth of 18.6 percent in the last five years.

Kalla is slated to fly to Japan on Thursday to attend the AICHI expo and to meet executives from Toyota Motor Corp., Sumitomo Corp., Itochu Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., Marubeni Corp. and the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro).