Indonesia seeking Brunei investors

Diah Wahyu Ermawati, head of investment services from the Investment Board, said that they did not have any investors from Brunei and that this was their first visit to Brunei. The board has a booth at the Airport Mall for the Indonesia Brunei & International Trade-Networking Expo 2012.

Ermawati said that, a few days ago, a few businessmen inquired about investments in the manufacturing industry in East Java. She added that from the response so far, Bruneians seem to be interested in middle- to low-level industries.

Asked about the potential that East Java has, Ermawati said that since 2009, East Java economic growth has performed above the national average economic growth. Last year East Java investments reached it’s highest, with a total of US$7.87 billion (Bt241.2 billion), the majority of which was from foreign direct investments. Domestic direct investments (DDI) amounted to $2.91 billion, while FDI amounted to $4.96 billion.

According to statistics provided by the board, Singapore currently has the highest investments in East Java making up 15 per cent of total investments from 2001 to 2011. Singapore currently has 196 projects in East Java, amounting to $5.7 billion. The Netherlands have the second highest investments in East Java, amounting to $5.6 billion, with 81 projects.

Ermawati said that the Investment Board has conducted roadshows in several areas around the world, including Europe, Canada and Australia. “So far we have found people who are interested in these places and some of the main industries that they are interested in include investments in infrastructure and supporting infrastructure projects,” she said.

East Java currently has a number of industries that available for foreign direct investments. The top industries are the food industry, leather and footwear industry, wood industry, metal, machinery and electronics industry and the textile industry. The food industry currently has 255 ongoing projects based on 2011 figures with a total investment of $8.19 billion.

Some of the investment projects currently being proposed for FDIs include a tourist train in Batu City, the establishment of an amusement park in Kamal, Madura, a Bromo Volcano Thematic Park, an elevated railway system project of Surabaya City to Juanda Airport, a raw material and wood processing terminal in East Java, an oil refinery project, liquefied natural gas (LNG) development and a floating storage receiving terminal (FSRT).

Other projects include $20 million industrial development of textile and textile products, a $46.4 million project in industrial B3 waste processing centre and a $208 million industrial development of iron steel.

The Agriculture Ministry of Indonesia is also seeking investors for the country’s agriculture sector.

“We are not offering investors opportunities in buying plantations but more for the downstream activities that come with agriculture,” said a ministry representative.

In Indonesia’s corn sector, some of the business opportunities available include organic fertilisers, livestock feed, corn powder, maltose, glucose, fructose, sorbitol, dextrin oil and other enzymes that can be converted into cooking oil, said the representative, who declined to be named.

Indonesia currently produces an estimated 5 million tonnes of corn per year, with production spread throughout East Java.

Indonesia is also seeking investors for its rice sector, which produces 11.5 million tonnes per year. Downstream activities include converting rice into rice powder and making agricultural soil via modern technology.

“There is also livestock, fishery and forestry products,” he said. “In East Kalimantan we have oil palm plantations and in West Kalimantan we have food estate investment projects that they can look into.”