Taiwan firms eye Medan

JAKARTA (JP): At least 15 Taiwanese companies plan to invest in the property sector in North Sumatra by the end of the year, Antara reported yesterday.

President of Taiwan's Honban Investment and Development, Lin Hui, told the news agency after his meeting with the province's governor Raja Inal Siregar in Medan, that Taiwan's investors were interested in opening businesses in the province.

He said Taiwanese investors believed the property business in North Sumatra was promising, but he did not disclose details of the planned investment.

Siregar said the province was still widely open to foreign investors.

The province has already set up 314 hectares of industrial estate, called Kawasan Industri Medan, near the city's strategic Belawan port.

Lin also invited North Sumatra's authorities and businesspeople to take part in the international industrial promotion exhibition in Taipei, next November.

Taiwan investment in Indonesia reached US$22.857 million last year, mostly in basic metal and metal manufacturing. (08)