JICA, JAPANESE EMBASSY TO HOST HR CONFERENCE
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The Japanese Embassy and the Japan International Cooperation Agency will host their first roundtable on human resources development to brainstorm ways for Thailand and Japan to cooperate to serve Thailand’s industry.
The seminar will be held from 2-4pm tomorrow at the Westin Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok.
According to a survey by the embassy, a lack of skilled labour is one of the problems facing Thailand’s industry.
The panellists will include Deputy Education Minister Thirakiat Charoensethasilp, Japanese Ambassador Shiro Sadoshima, Kyoichi Tanada, president of Toyota Motor (Thailand) and Kan Trakulhoon, member of Siam Cement Group’s board.
The moderator is Suthichai Yoon, adviser to the editorial board of Nation Multimedia Group.
INVESTMENT COMMITMENTS SOAR IN SUMATRA, SULAWESI
The Indonesian government’s efforts to promote equitable economic development in the country is starting to bear fruit, as investment commitments outside of Java, the archipelago’s main island, hit a record high last month, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the national figure.
The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) revealed that the country had booked 355 trillion rupiah (Bt900 billion) in investment commitments throughout last month, with 316 trillion rupiah planned for capitalisation in areas outside of Java.
“Most of the commitments were made by companies from the US, China, Singapore or South Korea,” BKPM chief Franky Sibarani said.
Among the favourite areas for investment, according to BKPM data, are those located in Sulawesi and Sumatra, which booked 235 trillion rupiah and 71.9 trillion rupiah last month.
The trend also confirmed recent findings detailed in the “Joint European Business Confidence Index 2015”, which suggest that more than a quarter of European companies operating in Indonesia are planning to expand, with over half of them eyeing Sulawesi and Sumatra as potential targets.
The Industry Ministry claimed that some 75 per cent of the country’s manufacturers are located in Java, followed by 17 per cent in Sumatra and 3.4 per cent in Kalimantan.
Java, the country’s most populated island, contributes roughly 60 per cent to the nation’s economic growth.
To spread the growth distribution, the government aims to enlarge the portion of realised investment placed outside of Java to 49.1 per cent this year from 45.2 per cent last year.
BKPM data reveal investment commitments in the country increased by 45 per cent to 1.8 quadrillion rupiah last year.
“Support from local government to turn the commitments into realised investments is very much expected,” he said. The government is now trying to develop infrastructure outside of Java in order to create evenly distributed economic growth.
Some of the prioritised infrastructure projects outside of Java are the eight segments of the Trans-Sumatra toll road, Kuala Tanjung International Airport in North Sumatra and the light rail transit project in South Sumatra.
Investment commitments in the country surged by 167 per cent from 212.6 trillion rupiah in February last year to 355 trillion rupiah last month, with local commitments reaching 75 trillion rupiah and foreign commitments 280 trillion rupiah.|– The Jakarta Post
