Driven by the country’s stellar economic performance and huge population, 17 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from a variety of sectors from the United States are on a two-day visit to explore business opportunities in Indonesia.
US deputy ambassador to Indonesia Ted Osius said on Monday that the visit would offer a good opportunity to introduce the SMEs, whose activities range from health services to machinery, to the Indonesian market in which bigger companies were already invested.
“(Indonesia) has 46 percent of population in Southeast Asia. Most of the natural resources in Southeast Asia are here. I think the opportunities are right here,” he told reporters in Jakarta.
Apart from increasing trade to Indonesia, the SMEs also have interest in investing in infrastructure, energy, aviation and transportation, and the oil and gas sectors, according to Osius.
The US has traditionally been one of Indonesia’s largest investors, with last year being the third-biggest in foreign investment.
In 2011, US firms poured US$1.5 billion in investment, accounting for 7.78 percent of the total foreign investment.
The US was the third-largest export destination for Indonesia, with exports reaching $15.69 billion, or 9.68 percent of the country’s total exports of $203.2 billion.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/21/small-us-firms-eying-indonesia.html