S'pore cancels RI investment

S'pore cancels RI investment

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore firms have put on hold investments worth some S$1.7 billion (US$1 billion) in Indonesia's nearby Riau province, a news report said here Tuesday.

Singapore's Business Times said that of a total of 66 projects worth some $3.2 billion that were committed in 1998, only 22 projects worth some $1.58 billion have been pursued.

"We hope that once the political situation stabilizes, these investments will start moving again," said Syahril Heryanto of the Department of Coordination for Investments in the Riau provincial government.

He said Singapore and other regional countries had expressed concern over social tensions in the province.

Singapore is one of the largest investors in Riau, especially in Batam and Bintan, where a series of clashes affecting Singapore businesses were reported earlier this year.

Batam, which was first developed in the 1970s as a center for the country's oil industry, now has a thriving tourist industry as well which attracts large numbers of Singaporeans annually.

Bintan, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of here, is also a popular weekend beach and golf resort for Singaporeans.