Southeast Sulawesi offers tax breaks to lure investors

Southeast Sulawesi offers tax breaks to lure investors

JAKARTA (JP): The provincial government of Southeast Sulawesi
is offering a wide range of tax breaks to investors who are
interested in setting up new businesses in the province.

Governor La Ode Kamoeddin said on Saturday the facilities
included tariff exemption on imports of production-supporting
materials, discounts on tax dividends and income tax exemption
for up to 10 years.

"We are offering a million opportunities to tap the potentials
of Southeast Sulawesi to investors that will help us bring more
prosperity," La Ode said at the opening of the province's
investment and culture exhibition at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.

La Ode said the tax break program -- launched on the
province's 35th anniversary -- was expected to boost exploitation
of the rich natural resources in the province.

La Ode said that opportunities available to investors in
Southeast Sulawesi included the province's strategic location,
suitable as a base for export-oriented companies, a simpler
bureaucracy for acquiring investment permits and developed
infrastructures.

He emphasized the importance of agribusiness in the province,
but said marble, sand, clay, nickel and fisheries also offered
investment opportunities.

The province has 938,000 hectares of productive land, which
could be cultivated as cacao, cashew, oil palm and sugarcane
plantations.

The province is also known for its asphalt production with 264
million tons of asphalt deposits in the province's Buton Island.

Southeast Sulawesi recorded US$53.7 million of non-oil and gas
exports in 1998, or 0.13 percent of the whole country's total
figure.

The prime export commodities are nickel, fresh and dried
fruits, fish, shrimp and cacao.

The majority of the province's commodities are sold to Japan,
the Netherlands, Taiwan, North Korea, India and Switzerland.
(udi)