JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and Singapore United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) signed an agreement to facilitate foreign direct investments (FDI) into Indonesia. The agreement was signed UOB Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer by Wee Ee Cheong with Chairman of BKPM Franky Sibarani in Singapore.
Through this agreement, BKPM and UOB will organizing and supporting and mission program of investment, especially in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, New York, London, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Taipei, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and India.
Franky said, with the implementation of this cooperation, will increase the flow of FDI and outbound direct investment (ODI). The government also will encourage Indonesian businessmen to expand the market to other countries.
Since 2010 until the third quarter of 2015, FDI from Singapore amounted to approximately $30 billion, consisting of 6,868 projects in sectors such as transport, warehousing and telecommunications, agriculture and farming, mining, food industry, industrial minerals and not metal, and electricity, gas and water.
Iwan Satawidinata, UOB Indonesia Deputy President Director adding, as part of the collaboration, BKPM will enable UOB’s clients to apply for their Indonesia Principle License directly in Singapore without having to travel to Indonesia. This is a first-in-the-market service provided by UOB through BKPM’s The Indonesia Investment Promotion Centre (IIPC) in Singapore.
The Principle License is the first license a foreign company must obtain to incorporate an entity in Indonesia. UOB will also support Indonesian investors who are looking to expand overseas via IIPC.
He stated that Indonesia is a major investment destination for both global and Asian companies. In the first nine months of 2015, FDI inflows into Indonesia continued its upward trend to hit $21.3 billion, an increase of 16.9 per cent over the corresponding period in 2014.
Asian countries remain the largest foreign investor into Indonesia, contributing to 52 per cent of total FDI, with most coming from Singapore (16 percent), Malaysia (13.6 percent), Japan (11.6 percent), South Korea (4.7 percent) and China (3.86 percent).
The MOU with BKPM adds to the existing partnerships and close ties that UOB has with other trade promotion agencies and industry partners, including the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) to increase foreign investment and trade between China and Indonesia, he said.