Denpasar – The increase in the number of applications for domestic and foreign investment shows Indonesia is recovering from a slump in investment, said the Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Muhammad Lutfi.

Speaking at a recent investment forum in Nusa Dua, Bali, he said some analysts believe the business climate in Indonesia is no longer conducive to investment. Therefore, a lot of investors have chosen other countries as the destinations of their investment.

However, signs showing that investment in Indonesia is beginning to recover prove that their assumption is not right, according to Lutfi.

Approved domestic and foreign investment plans from January to December reached Rp110.86 trillion (US$11.66 billion), an increase of 88.02% over Rp58.96 trillion ($6.20 billion) in 2004. In the number of investment projects, the realization of investment plans has reached 1,030 projects this year, up 53.04% over 673 projects in 2004.

The 1,030 projects in 2005 comprise 199 domestic investment projects worth Rp28.40 trillion and 831 foreign investment projects worth $8.68 billion.

Lutfi conceded that the business climate in Indonesia was not conducive to new investment in the last several years due to bureaucratic barriers.

Realizing the bureaucratic barriers experienced by local and foreign investors in seeking investment permits in Indonesia, the BKPM has cut the complicated bureaucratic line.

"It takes only 10 days for an investor to wait for the issuance of an investment permit today, from one month to 40 days previously," Lutfi said.