INDONESIA HOPING TO LURE INVESTORS DURING WEFEA by Fardah

   Jakarta, April 20, 2015 (Antara) - As the host of the 24th World Economic Forum on East Asia (WEFEA),  the Indonesian government is hoping to lure as many investors as possible during the event, to support its ambition to construct infrastructure projects throughout the country.

         "After looking at opportunities here for a week, please invest. If you have any problem, call me," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) told over 700 business, government and civil society leaders attending the WEFEA in Jakarta, on April 20, 2015.

        Indonesia must undergo crucial restructuring, Jokowi said in his opening remarks at the forum being held in Jakarta, April 19-21, 2015.

       "Today, we must change from consumption back to production, from consumption to investment in our infrastructure, investment in our industry, but most importantly, investment in our human capital, the most precious resource of the 21st century," he stated.

        Vice President M Jusuf Kalla also expressed his hope that after joining the WEFEA in Jakarta, foreign businessmen would be interested in investing in infrastructure development projects in the country .

        "This WEF is always interesting for major businessmen in the world to talk about economic progress in the Southeast Asian region," Indonesian Vice President M Jusuf Kalla said in his office on April 20, 2015.

        The 700 CEOs from over 40 countries attending the WEFEA include those from Australia, Cambodia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, China, the Philippines, Korea, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, Thailand, Britain, and the United States of America.   
   Some 40 foreign ministers, and 16 leaders from ASEAN member countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Australia and New Zealand also joined the Forum.        
   "The presence of the world-class CEOs is significant because they are decision makers," the Indonesian trade ministry's Director General for International Trade Cooperation Bachrul Chairi said recently.

        The government has allocated some US$129 billion for development projects, but is still short of US$425-430 billion.

          "To achieve the target, this is our opportunity to sell the programs, and offer opportunities to the world CEOs," Bachrul said.

         The Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has made preparations for investment promotion during the WEFEA, as the objective of hosting the WEFEA 2015 is to attract foreign investments in various fields.

         The board is to inform the forum about the existing investment opportunities and improvement in bureaucracy such as by  establishing an Integrated One-Stop Investment Service (PTSP), the board's Chairman Franky Sibarani said in a statement.

         "The central PTSP offers quick, easy, transparent, and integrated investment licensing service. Investors can monitor the progress of their permit applications. Moreover, the government has integrated the works of the central PTSP with those in the regions, both provinces and districts/cities," he noted.

         To achieve an average economic growth rate of seven percent, the average annual growth of investment should be 10.2 percent, as the target for realized investment value for the period of 2015-2019 is Rp3,500 trillion.

        Investment opportunities are wide open as the government has planned to accelerate the development of power plants and infrastructures to improve the connectivity of economic growth hubs across Indonesia.

        "Through this forum, we invite businessmen from the East Asian region to involve in Indonesia's development and benefit from business opportunities here," he stated. 
  The government plans to build a power plant with a capacity of 35,000 megawatts within five years and improve the country's connectivity to cut logistics costs.

        "We also want investors in East Asia to see Indonesia not only as a market but also as a production hub in Asia. We want investments that will enable the transfer of knowledge and technology and at the same time will improve Indonesia's productivity and competitiveness," he remarked.

        He is optimistic that the WEFEA 2015 will attract large investments from East Asian countries; Japanese and Chinese investors had expressed interest in investing in Indonesia when they met with President Joko Widodo during his visits to their countries in March.

        The BKPM has recorded investment commitments worth US$73.46 billion: US$10.06 billion commitment from Japan and US$63.40 billion from China.

        Investments in 2014 reached Rp463.1 trillion, up 16.2 percent from Rp307 trillion in the previous year.    With US$2.7 billion worth projects, Japan made the highest investment in Indonesia in 2014.

         The theme of the World Economic Forum on East Asia 2015 is "Anchoring Trust in East Asia's Regionalism".

        Philipp Rösler, member of the World Economic Forum's Managing Board, in his welcoming remarks stressed the importance of building trust to turn decisions into reality.

         "Trust is critical. Without trust, there is no motivation. Without motivation, there is no leadership," he stated.

         The World Economic Forum on East Asia is "a platform for creating trust and leadership to bring the region into a better future," he concluded.

       Established in 1971, the WEF is an international institution committed to improving the state of the world through public-private cooperation.

        The  Geneva-based non-profit foundation is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests, working in close cooperation with all major international organizations. ***3***
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