Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has recorded that Java is still the main investment destination as investors remain reluctant to put their money into the country's other islands although infrastructure development is being intensified.
"In terms of value, the investment in the areas outside Java increased by 14.39 percent to Rp 155 trillion [US$11.62 billion] in the first half compared to Rp 135.5 trillion in the same period of 2016," BKPM's investment monitoring and realization deputy director Azhar Lubis said on Wednesday.
In the first half, 46 percent of Rp 336.7 trillion investment realization went to areas outside Java, while investment outside Java in the same period last year only accounted for 45.5 percent of the total investment in the country.
Meanwhile, investment in Java grew by 11.75 percent to Rp 181.7 trillion compared with Rp 162.6 trillion in the first half of 2016.
BKPM Chairman Thomas Lembong said mining- and plantation-related investment such as smelters had boosted the investment figure outside Java.
Meanwhile, commodity-based investment in Sumatra and Kalimantan reached Rp 54.6 trillion and Rp 36.2 trillion, respectively, said Azhar, adding that they were the second and third regions with the highest investment, accounting for 16.2 and 10.7 percent of the total investment, respectively.
"The smelter construction is a sizeable contributor. The construction of the smelters tends to be overwhelmingly in areas outside Java," Tom said. (bbn)