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)