Japanese electronics manufacturer Panasonic Corporation plans to relocate factories in Japan and Vietnam to Indonesia sometime this year, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) said Wednesday.
Panasonic will build factories outside Java island, with an estimated investment between US$40-45 billion, BKPM head Gita Wirjawan said after a press briefing on the Indonesia Summit in Hotel Shangri-La in Central Jakarta.
"They have communicated with us, and it seems [the plan] can be actualized this year," he told reporters.
Panasonic considers the relocation because Indonesia has a large population of about 230 million, based on the latest data released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), he added.
"Business opportunities everywhere will always refer to the population scale of a country. Besides, Indonesia's purchasing power keeps increasing," Gita said.
According to the BPS, in 2009 Indonesia's per capita income reached $2,590, a 14 percent increase from $2,270 in the previous year.
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