By the third quarter of 2014, Singapore was in the lead, with FDI totalling US$4.9 billion, or 22.5 percent of the total FDI.
Last year, the largest investor among the five countries was Japan, with FDI reaching $4.71 billion, followed by Singapore, with FDI of $4.67 billion; the United States, 2.4 billion; South Korea, $2.2 billion; and Great Britain, $1.1 billion. Other countries had invested a total of $13.5 billion, or 47.2 percent of the total new investment in 2013.
"Singapore could invest up to $5 billion in Indonesia this year," Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Andri Hadi told the Antara News Agency recently.
He said he had teamed up with the Capital Investment Coordinating Board, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other relevant institutions to attract further investment from Singapore.
"We expect that foreign direct investment will increase significantly and investors will flock to the six economic corridors of Indonesia that have been designated as growth centers within the Master Plan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesias Economic Development," Ambassador Hadi was quoted as saying in a special publication of the Embassy of Indonesia in Singapore, Opportunity Indonesia magazine.
"With the focus on developing and strengthening the nations economy, it will surely improve and the benefits will extend to neighboring countries, especially Singapore, as Indonesias main trade and investment partner."
Bilateral relations between the two countries have remained strong and robust over the years. The leaders of both nations have formed an increasingly closer relationship.
"The relationship is friendly, collaborative, constructive and pragmatic, and I have no doubt that the new Indonesian governments bilateral cooperation will reach new heights," Hadi said.
One of the highlights this year was the meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and President Tony Tan Keng Yam in Batam in June.
The two leaders had a wide-ranging discussion on regional and international developments and agreed that a strong, united and integrated ASEAN was important for regional prosperity and for the region to address various common challenges.
In order to strengthen their bilateral economic cooperation, the 4th Singapore-Indonesia Six Bilateral Economic Working Groups Ministerial Meeting was held on February 11, 2014. The meeting was co-chaired by Singapore Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang and Indonesias Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs M. Hatta Rajasa. The event is considered an important platform for advancing bilateral economic cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia.
During the meeting, both sides noted that good progress had been made across the Six Working Groups, particularly with cooperation in the islands of Batam, Bintan and Karimun and other Special Economic Zones, investments, air connectivity, tourism, manpower and agri-business.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who replaced SBY, was in Singapore for his youngest sons graduation on Nov. 21.
RIs Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi met her Singaporean counterpart Minister K. Shanmugam to discuss bilateral cooperation, focusing on trade and investment.
"The main focus of the meeting was trade and investment. However, the margin of increase was not mentioned. Singaporean Foreign Affairs Minister Shanmugam said that only a quarter of our bilateral economic cooperation potential has, so far, been tapped. So, 75 percent needs to be explored," Minister Marsudi remarked at the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore on Wednesday (Nov. 26).
Minister Marsudi hoped that Singapore would import agricultural products, especially fruit and vegetables, from Indonesia.
"We want to promote our agricultural products, especially fruit and vegetables, so that Singapore will not choose to import from distant countries, which it has done until now," she stated.
Marsudi affirmed that the government will establish a one-stop permission service to facilitate investors in conducting their business in Indonesia.
After the bilateral meeting with Minister Shanmugam, Minister Marsudi also paid a courtesy visit to Singapores Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the State Palace.
"The government of Singapore welcomes our plan to increase bilateral cooperation and harbors high optimism related to business initiatives and investment in Indonesia under President Jokowis administration," she affirmed.
Singapore has so far invested mainly in Jakarta and neighboring districts in the sectors of transportation, telecommunications, warehousing , manufacturing, food processing, plantations, and electronics. Business leaders from Singapore have visited to study investment and business opportunities in Jakarta, Surabaya, and other parts of Indonesia. Singaporean investors chose to invest in the countrys two largest cities as they have a more adequate infrastructure and large, modern seaports.
(T.M016/INE)
EDITED BY INE/a014
(T.M016/B/KR-BSR/A014)
Reporter: Mohammad Anthoni
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
