JAKARTA: A number of US investors have expressed interest in investing in the country’s creative economy and cold storage and health service sectors with planned investment of Rp 263 billion (US$20 million).
Their interest was expressed through the Indonesia Investment Promotion Center (IIPC) , a representative office of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in New York.
“The investors are interested in building animation studios in Indonesia by working together with local partners in Batam, Bandung and Yogyakarta,” BKPM chief Franky Sibarani said recently.
One US investor has considered entering Indonesia’s cold storage business with an investment of about Rp 66 billion (US$5 million).
“The company will first build processing plants in Sumbawa, and continue in Alor, Serang and Sorong. These processing plants will process seafood before it is marketed to retailers in the US,” Franky explained.
For health services, US firms will open weight-loss businesses at two potential locations, namely Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara and Bintan in Riau Islands. Currently, the firms are mostly engaged in selling organic spices.
Elsa Noviliyanti, IIPC’s executive in New York, said she would continue to communicate extensively with US investors.
“Regarding the creative economy, we have met with the investors and talked about the next investment stage,” Elsa said.
The US is one of Indonesia’s priority countries for investment. According to data from the BKPM in 2015, the realized value of US investment reached $893 million, comprising 261 projects, most of them in the mining sector.
Throughout 2015, BKPM received investment commitments worth $4.6 billion from US investors for 76 projects.
“The IIPC New York together with RI representatives and the US marketing officer are going to oversee the process to make sure that their commitment to invest in Indonesia can be realized as soon as possible,” Elsa said.
