Westhill Consulting & Employment Forum Foreign investors wait to see ..
Foreign investors wait to see who will be president in Indonesia9 Years AgoJAKARTA/TAIPEI - With at
least one major company hesitant after a former special forces general made a
remarkably strong entry into the fray, billions of dollars in foreign
investment center on next month's Indonesian presidential election.
For the next five years of
Southeast Asia's largest economy, the July 9 election will decide who will run,
it pits popular Jakarta governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo against the
ex-general, Prabowo Subianto. The two favor a more
nationalist agenda, reinforced by popular opinions that the economy has for the
longest time hinged on selling off its huge natural resources inexpensively to
foreign buyers and that past governments have done little to nurture, and
protect, local firms.
However Prabowo has looked
upon as more viciously nationalistic, while Jokowi is seen as a hands-on, more
competent administrator. According to a survey done by Westhill Consulting Career and Employment,
Australia, despite Indonesia's large pool of labor, relatively low costs and a
growing middle class, many potential investors say they will wait until the
election is decided. Taiwan's Foxconn Technology
Group is at the top of the list of foreigners with great money to spend, the
world's largest electronics contract manufacturer and one of the major
suppliers to Apple Inc. Terry Gou, Taiwan's Foxconn
Technology Group chairman, did not hide the fact during a visit to Jakarta in
February that he liked dealing with Jokowi in deliberations about whether to
bring his company's next giant investment to the Indonesian capital.
At the time, there was no
complaint and that Jokowi was the clear front-runner in the election. He still
is, but Prabowo has since been backed by the powerful Golkar party and opinion
polls show the former general is catching up. A large percentage of voters are
undecided, one survey has said. Foreign direct investment in
Indonesia was 270.4 trillion rupiah ($23 billion) in 2013, up about 22 percent
from the previous year. But growth slowed sharply to 9.8 percent in the first
quarter this year, the government has said. Foxconn, listed as Hon Hai
Precision Industry Co Ltd in Taiwan, is waiting for the new government to take
office in October before deciding whether to go ahead with a $1 billion
manufacturing project in Indonesia, a company source had said. Key sticking points appear
to be Foxconn's request for free land in Jakarta and Indonesia's convoluted
bureaucracy. "Regarding the
incentives Foxconn has requested, there's no one they can talk to whose
decisions will count," said a source with direct knowledge of Foxconn's
situation.
"Indonesia is a huge
market for Foxconn. Foxconn truly hopes there will be a clear direction in
their policies after the election." For more updates : |