Private Investments in Indonesia May Beat Estimate

Jakarta, Indonesia (News Today) - Private investments in Indonesia may reach IDR180 trillion ($20 billion) this year, above an earlier estimate of IDR160 trillion, as the government speeds up administrative processes, the head of the country's investment agency said Wednesday.

“There are some intesive discussions, but we expect all can be completed and to sign several MoUs (memoranda of understanding) later this year,“ Gita Wirjawan, head of the Coordinating Board for Investment, or BKPM, said.

Wirjawan previously said the board would focus on big infrastructure projects such as power plants, railroads, ports, and refineries. Earlier in the day, coal producer PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA.JK) signed a $1.6 billion agreement with PT Adani Global, the local unit of India's Adani group, to develop a railway project to transport coal in South Sumatra province.

South Korea's Hankook Tire Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (000240.SE) and India's Reliance Power Ltd. (532939.BY) will likely sign agreements with local partners before the year-end, Wirjawan said.

For many years, investors have had to go to numerous ministries or government agencies to request permits, but a little less than a year ago, BKPM introduced a one-stop service for investments that trimmed the time needed for administrative processes from months to days.

Private-sector investment rose to IDR92.9 trillion in the first half of this year, already equivalent to total investment in the full year of 2009. About 80% of that amount came from foreign direct investment.

Source : kompas

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