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)