Jakarta Globe, Nov 11, 2014
Jakarta.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo addressed business leaders at the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation CEO summit in Beijing on Monday, where he put out a call
for greater investment in the archipelago and promised a friendlier climate for
doing business in the country.
The
following is his speech:
Excellencies,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen and CEOs.
First, on
behalf of Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia I would like to
thank you for coming to my presentation. Today I am very happy to be among with
you because you know I was a businessman years ago. So this morning I am very
happy because we can talk about business, about investment with all of you.
This
picture shows you our map of Indonesia. We have a population of 240 million and
the distance is like from London in the UK to Istanbul in Turkey. And imagine,
we have 17,000 islands.
Our
national budget in 2015 is $167 billion and the fuel subsidy [allocation] is
$27 billion. It’s huge. So we want to channel our fuel subsidy from consumption
to productive activities. We want to channel [the money] to farmers for seed,
for fertilizers, and also for irrigation. And we want to build dams — 25 dams
in five years from our fuel subsidy to maintain the water supply to farming
areas.
Some
subsidy [funds] we want to channel to fishermen, to give them boat engines
[and] refrigerators. We want to increase the income of the fishermen. Some fuel
subsidy [funds] we want to [give to] micro and small enterprises in the
villages. We want to help them raise working capital. And some subsidy [funds]
we want to channel to the health program [and] the education program. And the
subsidy [funds] we [also] want to channel to infrastructure.
In five
years we want to build 24 seaports and deep seaports. We have 17,000 islands,
so we need seaports and deep seaports. And this is your opportunity: 24
seaports and deep seaports.
This
picture shows our Jakarta port, Tanjung Priok Port. In 2009, the capacity was
3.6 million TEUs a year. And our plan in 2017 is around 15 million TEUs a year.
This is the potential [for] ports in Indonesia. This is your opportunity. We
want to build in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Sulawesi, Maluku, also in Papua.
And we plan to build our [railway network]. We already [have railway lines] in
Java and we want to build in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. This is
your opportunity.
Now we talk
about mass transportation. We want to build mass transportation in six big
cities in Indonesia. We started in Jakarta last year, and we want to build in
Medan, Makassar, Semarang, Bandung [and] Surabaya. So, this is also your
opportunity. Because you know our national budget is limited.
Now we
[will] talk [about] our maritime agenda. We want to build [a] sea toll. What is
[a] sea toll? [A] Sea toll is [a] maritime transportation system to make our
transportation costs lower [and] more efficient. We want to build from the west
to the east. We hope not only the vessels can enter our sea toll but also
mother vessels can enter the sea toll. So the price, the cost of the
transportation, [becomes] more efficient.
For
example, the price of [...] one sack [of] cement in Java is $6 [...] But in
Papua the price is $150 [...] Imagine, 25 times [as much]. So we hope with our
sea toll the price in our islands [will be] the same.
Electricity.
We need power plants. We need around 35,000 [megawatts] to build our industries,
projects, industrial zones, [manufacturing] zones. So we need power plants.
This is also your opportunity to invest in this project. Because we need our
power plants for manufacturing, for industrial zones.
Many
investors, a lot of investors, when they come to me most of them [...] always
complain about land acquisition. I will push my ministers, my governors, my
mayors to help clear this problem. I have experience with land acquisition when
I was a governor. We [had the] Jakarta Outer Ring Road [project that] started
15 years ago but stopped eight years ago, because we had a problem. One point
five kilometers [was] unfinished because there [were] 143 families [who did]
not accept [...] the compensation price. So last year I invited them [...] to lunch
and dinner. Four times. Ah, this is me. I invited them and then we talked about
the problem. Four times. And the problem [was] cleared.
And now the
toll road has been [in use since] seven months ago.
Now [let’s]
talk business permits. We have a national one-stop service office that can help
you, that will serve you, that will facilitate you, that will give you your
business permit. For example, [a] principle business permit [will take] three
days to process.
Finally,
again on behalf of the Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia I
would like to thank you for your listening my presentation. We are waiting for
you to come to Indonesia. We are waiting for you to invest in Indonesia. Thank
you.
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