The value of participating in Davos

The value of participating in Davos

Harry Bhaskara, The Jakarta Post, Davos

Looking at its size alone, Indonesia is an impressive country to
invest in, says Joseph Deiss, Federal Councillor of Switzerland,
an equivalent to economic minister.

It is a country of almost two million square kilometers, with
a population of 210 million people, he said, comparing it to
Switzerland's population of seven million people in an area of
40,000 square kilometers.

"Therefore, economic relations with Indonesia are a very
viable option," he told The Jakarta Post in Zurich, a day after
the Davos meeting closed at the end of January.

This comment is especially encouraging because Deiss is a
minister of a country that, he claims, remained one of the best
places in the world in which to invest.

How should Asian governments view the Davos gathering in
regard to investment? Singaporean businessman Tony Chew says the
gathering is a great marketing opportunity for governments.

If this is so, then Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government is
going in the right direction. A long-time investor in Indonesia,
who is also chairman of the Asia Resource Corporation, Chew was
impressed by the presence of three Indonesian ministers in Davos.

"Investors can meet in-person with the ministers. Some are
complaining openly to the ministers. This is unprecedented," he
said, emerging from a meeting between the ministers and a dozen
business leaders on the fringe of the Davos conference, "This is
a very good thing."

Indonesia was represented by three ministers at the World
Economic Forum, including Coordinating Minister for the Economy
Aburizal Bakrie, Minister of Energy Purnomo Yusgiantoro and
Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu. The three ministers took time
out from their tight schedule to act as panelists at the
conference.

Today, Chew said, foreign investors are upbeat about
Indonesia.

"And they are not just one-time investors," he said, "they are
confident that the new government is able to deliver."

Chew said he sensed a unity in Susilo's cabinet.
"I feel the government is really serious about getting things
done," he told the Post.

Other Asian countries, notably China, India and Pakistan, were
well-represented. But Philip Bowring, a regular Davos participant
over the past ten years, noted in The Herald Tribune that several
years ago Asian presence was more pronounced. He pointed out that
representation from several dynamic economies in the region, such
as Japan, Korea and Taiwan, had declined.

Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the Davos
conference was a very useful gathering.

"It is an ideal place to meet with political and business
leaders from other countries," he told the Post on the sidelines
of the conference.

So important is the gathering for networking that Nestle
president-in-waiting, Frits van Dijk, said that when he first
started attending the conference he spent 85 percent of his time
in the sessions, and 15 percent outside the sessions.

"Now, it is the reverse," he told visiting Asian journalists
grouped in the Asia News Network of which the Post is a founding
member.

For all the importance of Davos and the prospects for
investment in Indonesia, much of the work still lies with the
Indonesian government. Switzerland may well serve as a good
model, especially in its service industry which accounts for 70
percent of the country's economy.

So how can a country with such high costs and such a strong
currency still be one of the most attractive places in the world
to invest?