JAKARTA: A French company specializing in sports apparel is planning to invest US$500 million in Indonesia, underlining growing interest from European businesses to invest in the country.
Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Franky Sibarani said the Lille-based company, the name of which was not disclosed, had conveyed its interest through BKPM’s representative in London.
Franky added the French company would cooperate with local companies to build a sports research and development center, an integrated department store as well as an import-export system in Indonesia.
“Not only will the company market its products domestically, it will also export to other department stores overseas,” Franky said in an official statement on Friday.
France is seen by BKPM as one of the top prospects from where to source more investment. The latest plan would see a huge increase from that country, which last year contributed only Rp 123 billion to foreign investment.
Other EU countries — which are particularly interested in investing in minerals, infrastructure and manufacturing – also displayed growing interest this past year. According to BKPM data, investment commitments from Europe totaled Rp 37.3 trillion in 2015, up 16 percent from 2014’s Rp 32.2 trillion. The biggest commitment was from the UK with Rp 9.19 trillion — up 338 percent from 2014.
Based on this trend, Franky expressed hope for solid growth. “We will gradually increase investment from Europe in five years.”
He said his office would maintain communication with the investors to ensure the proposed projects would be realized.
“Our representative in London and marketing officers all over Europe will directly communicate all the facilities [the investors] would get when investing in Indonesia,” Franky said.
Meanwhile, BKPM’s investment promotion representative in London, Nurul Ichwan, said the French investor was a big name in sports, with 1,030 department stores worldwide. “It expects to operate its first department stores in Malaysia and Indonesia this year,” he said.
In October 2015, the BKPM launched a three-hour licensing service for certain investors planning to open businesses in a bid to attract large-scale investment. The service, which is part of the government’s second economic policy package, will allow prospective investors with a minimum investment of Rp 100 billion (US$7.33 million) and/or a plan to employ more than 1,000 workers to have their preliminary permits processed at the BKPM’s one-stop integrated service (PTSP) within three hours.
Recently, the BKPM has set itself a target to attract more investors from Europe, primarily from major countries like the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain and Switzerland.
