Singaporean firms seeking partners for business in RI
Singaporean firms seeking partners for business in RI
JAKARTA (JP): A delegation of some 40 Singaporean firms met
their Indonesian counterparts here on Wednesday to explore the
possibility of establishing joint venture companies.
The business delegation, led by the Singapore Confederation of
Industries (SCI), is the first major business mission to
Indonesia since the Singapore government launched early this year
a loan facility worth US$235 million to spur Singaporean
investments in Indonesia.
Delegation leader and SCI chairman George Huang described the
mission as successful given the positive response from the
Indonesian companies that came to meet delegation members.
"Now we'll wait and see how this getting-to-know each other
will develop," Huang told reporters on the sidelines of the
meeting at the Kempinski Hotel.
He said the event offered Singaporean and Indonesian companies
the opportunity to establish first business contacts.
Over 130 Indonesian companies came to the meeting, according
to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), which
facilitated the event.
Huang said that once both sides had met, they could
independently follow up on their meeting without further aid from
SCI or Kadin.
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong during his January
visit here said that the country wanted to act as a catalyst to
woo in foreign investment into Indonesia.
The Singapore government has then set up a loan facility of
S$400 million to finance investment by Singapore firms in
Indonesia.
Huang explained that only Singapore's small and medium size
firms were eligible for the loans, which would be valid for two
years.
According to him, Indonesia had so many potential sectors that
it would be up to Singapore to tap them all.
"In this mission we're covering multi sectors, which have
different assessments and criteria," he said.
Nevertheless, several Singapore companies joined the mission
to expand their network in Indonesia, regardless of the loan
facility offer.
Jimmy Tan of Singapore based security company PT Cisco Mas
Sekurititama said that he was only seeking potential clients.
Offering security consultation, the company saw Indonesia as a
prospective market with little competition, Tan said.
This year's foreign direct investment to Indonesia has been
sluggish due to prevailing security problems and political
instability.
Huang said that Singapore investors took into account
Indonesia's political and economic stability.
However, he said that SCI planned to help promote Indonesia's
investment opportunities to other countries.
"As neighbors we will always try to find ways of working
together," Huang said. (bkm/07)