Taiwanese company eyes RI business opportunities
Taiwanese company eyes RI business opportunities
JAKARTA (JP): One of Taiwan's top companies said yesterday it
was eying several attractive investment opportunities in
Indonesia in the wake of the country's economic turmoil.
Core Pacific Group's chairman, Sheen Ching Jing, said that
his company was actively seeking corporate investment
opportunities in Indonesia.
"The outlook for foreign investors is extremely bright now
because the best investment opportunities are there at a time
when Indonesia has been hit severely," Sheen said at a media
conference.
He singled out Indonesia as holding the most attractive
targets in view of its precipitous currency decline -- more than
70 percent since early July -- and the chaos of its battered
financial sector.
The rupiah's sharp fall, he said, had made Indonesian
companies' assets much cheaper for foreign investors to buy.
Sheen said his group was interested in investing in the
country's financial, energy and infrastructure sectors.
"We already have contacted good investment targets in
Indonesia," he said adding that his company had chosen the widely
diversified Artha Graha Group as its first partner.
Sheen said that Core Pacific was considering investing in PT
Dynamika Bahari Sejahtera, a fishery company owned by Artha
Graha.
Artha Graha owner Tommy Winata said that his company was still
negotiating with Core Pacific over how many of the fishery
company's shares would be sold.
Tommy declined to give further details about the Taiwanese
investment plan, except to say that the two sides might end up as
equal partners in Dynamika.
He said Dynamika was developing a US$60-million integrated
fishery industry in Tual, Maluku, which would comprise plain
water fishponds, sea weed, deep sea catching, and a fish-canning
plant.
He added that the integrated fishery center would export about
500,000 tons of fresh and frozen fish, sea weed products and
canned fish.
The outcome of the negotiations is expected to be officially
announced in late April, he said.
Tommy said that his Taiwanese partner was also interested in
cooperating with other companies.
State Minister of Investment Sanyoto Satrowardoyo said Monday
that of the 56 countries with foreign investments in Indonesia,
Taiwan currently ranked sixth, with its investments valued at
US$13.4 billion in 627 projects.
Data from the Investment Coordinating Board shows that in
1997, Taiwan's investments stood at US$3.4 billion spread over
101 projects, ranks fourth after Britain ($5.5 billion), Japan
($5.4 billion), and Germany ($4.5 billion).
Investments made by Taiwanese businesspeople were mostly in
petrochemical and resource-based industries and the financial
sector. (gis)