Taiwan hopes Indonesia maintains security
JAKARTA (JP): Taiwanese businesspeople expressed hope on Thursday the new Indonesian government would bring fresh impetus for their investment in the country.
The representative of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office, Lin Sui-Chi, said he hoped Indonesia could maintain the security and political stability which followed the election of President Abdurrahman Wahid.
Chi said security and political stability were necessary ingredients for Indonesia to attract foreign investment.
"Indonesia needs to give comfort to the existing foreign investors so they will continue to contribute to the country's economy," Chi said.
Foreign investment in the country suffered tremendously following violent social upheavals which forced the resignation of president Soeharto in May 1998.
After Soeharto stepped down, the volatility of the country's political situation frightened away foreign investors, who questioned the security of doing business in the country.
Chi hoped the new government under Abdurrahman would be able to create a level of security which would encourage business ventures.
The Indonesian government must be determined and committed to improving the country's investment environment, Chi said.
He said Taiwan's accumulated investment in Indonesia from 1967 to Sept. 30 this year stood at US$16.7 billion.
Chi said he was optimistic the flow of direct investment from Taiwan to Indonesia would pick up in the coming months on the back of the relatively stable political situation in Indonesia.
The pulp and paper, and textile industries account for some $10.6 billion and $1.1 billion of Taiwan's investment in Indonesia, respectively. The remaining $5 billion is spread among the service, trade, real estate, fishery and plantation industries.
Taiwan is the fifth largest investor in Indonesia, following Japan, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong.
He said the Taiwanese government would fully support the country's small garment and electronics businesses which wished to form joint ventures with small Indonesian businesses.
"We will endeavor to help small to medium-size Taiwanese and Indonesian businesses come together to build factories in Indonesia," he said during a seminar on foreign investment in Indonesia.
The seminar was organized by the Taiwan Economic and Trade Office in cooperation with the office of State Minister of Investment and State Enterprises Development Laksamana Sukardi.
Laksamana said he was committed to further deregulating investment by eliminating policies which hampered foreign investment.
"Investment policies will be totally reformed so that there will be no barriers to foreign investors," he said during the seminar, which also was attended by Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu, Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman and labor union activist Mukhtar Pakpahan.
He said the government was not only committed to providing a conducive investment environment, but also to enabling foreign investors to appropriately assess business risks in Indonesia.
"Foreign investors are an important part of the Indonesian economy," he said.
Bomer praised the Taiwanese government's gesture of eliminating its quota on Indonesia workers entering Taiwan.
"We are glad to hear the Taiwanese government abolished the quota on Indonesian citizens working there," Bomer said.
"Currently, there are 41,300 Indonesian citizens working in Taiwan," he said. (udi)