Indonesia eyes bigger Japanese investment in 5 years

Indonesia will in the next five years focus its ties with Japan by raising the flow of Japanese investment to Indonesia in the wake of the global economic crisis, the Antara news agency quoted an Indonesian envoy as sayin.

The signing of the Agreement on Strategic Partnership for Peaceful and Prosperous Future in 2006 and the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJEPA) in 2007 has laid a firm basis for the promotion of bilateral relations, Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Jusuf Anwar said here on Saturday.

One of the efforts the Indonesian government has made to attract more Japanese investors is conducting a market breakthrough in Japan by promoting the products of small-and medium-scale industries, organizing self-financing exhibitions and performing art and cultural shows, he said.

In 2008, Japan ranked third in terms of foreign investment in Indonesia with a total investment of $1.365 billion in 130 projects.

But because of the global economic meltdown last year, Japanese investment in Indonesia plunged to $580 million in 103 projects in the January-October 2009 period.

Japan is one of the main export markets for Indonesia, buying nearly 18 percent of the latter`s export commodities.

Indonesia enjoyed a surplus of $19.92 billion in its trade with Japan in 2008 when its exports to Japan were valued at $32.53 billion while its imports from the East Asian country was recorded at $12.61 billion.

The surplus fell to $10.3 billion in the first ten months of 2009 as a result of the global economic crisis, the ambassador said.

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