Provinces to showcase business opportunities during expo

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

All 33 of the country's provinces will showcase their economic potentials during a three-day regional investment promotion expo to be held in Batam starting today.

This will be only the second exhibition ever to promote business and investment opportunities in all of the country's provinces, according to a release from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), which is organizing the event in collaboration with the Batam Authority.

BKPM chairman M. Lutfi is scheduled to open the event, at which a number of foreign trade agencies and business associations have confirmed their participation.

According to the release, these include the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia, Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), Korea Trade Center (Kotra), Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, British Chamber of Commerce, and Indonesia-Australia Business Council.

Indonesia is in dire need of more investment, in particular from overseas, in order to fuel the economy so that it can grow by more than 6 percent annually, in line with the government's target.

The government is hoping that the desire to attract investment will promote competition among the provinces in terms of ensuring a business-friendly climate.

As of the end of the first semester, total realized investment in Indonesia in 2007 stood at US$4.10 billion, an almost 20 percent rise from the same period last year, when the figure for the same period was $3.51 billion, involving 486 projects.

Of this, the chemical and pharmaceutical sector accounted for $1.52 billion worth of investment, followed by the paper and printing sector ($423 million), food processing ($298.7 million), mining ($282.5 million), and trade and repair sector (239.6 million).

By location, East Java came first with $1.57 billion, followed by Jakarta ($1.05 billion), West Java ($410.8 million), and Riau ($403.8 million).

The release added that after Batam, the BKPM will organize a similar event in Surabaya in October.