RI BEST SOUTH EAST ASIA FACTORY DESTINATION: SURVEY
Jakarta, 25 Rabi’ul Awwal 1436/16 January 2015 (MINA) – Indonesia will attract more new factories than any other Southeast Asian nation over the next few years, a survey of 75 manufacturers found, bolstering President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s drive to revitalize the economy, Bloomberg reported from Singapore.
Manufacturers plan to build 54 new plants in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy by 2019, a 68 percent increase that will help Indonesia overtake Malaysia and Thailand, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit survey sponsored by Baker & McKenzie and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.
President Jokowi has slashed fuel subsidies to free up budget space for infrastructure, pledging to spur investment and boost an economy growing at the slowest pace since 2009. Many companies are starting to implement their expansion plans in Indonesia following last year’s election, according to Mochamad Fachri, a lawyer with Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners, a Baker & McKenzie member firm in Indonesia, The Jakarta Post quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
“They believe that the transfer of power has been successful and the government has shown its commitment to reforming public finances by changing fuel subsidies”, he said, referring to the law firm’s clients. “Therefore, the timing is good for putting these expansion plans in place.”
A recently released survey by the British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia showed investor confidence rose last year, with the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) predicting a 15 percent rise in investment this year as the government moves to streamline permit-issuance procedures.
“We have seen an increase in interest from prospective investors in a new industrial park”, industrial estate developer PT Kawasan Industri Jababeka said in an October e-mail. “With the election over, Indonesia is perceived to be more stable. The government is going to make a substantial investment in the development of the infrastructure.”(T/P009/P3)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
