Government Offers Assurance Of Providing Favorable Business Climate To Sweden

JAKARTA, March 22 (Antara) - The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has offered assurance to Swedish investors that Indonesia will provide a favorable business climate for investment and trading, its Chairman Thomas Lembong noted in a written statement received here, Tuesday. "The Indonesian government's reformation and transparency efforts in the past two years have created a positive business climate for investors," Lembong stated during a visit to Sweden to meet several executive directors. During his official visit, Lembong met some CEOs of prominent companies, including SAAB, Astra Zaneca, LFV, Ericsson, IKEA, ABB, Forsway, Scania, SEB, and Education First in Sweden's capital city, Stockholm on Monday. Indonesia has committed to reforming and increasing accountability by simplifying business procedures, mainly for the issuance of licenses or permits, he noted. According to Sweden's private companies, Indonesia offers promising investment opportunities, mainly in the tourism sector. Meanwhile, Indonesian Ambassador to Sweden Bagas Hapsoro, who was assisting the investment board's chairman at the meeting, remarked that Indonesia is a strategic business partner for Sweden. The Swedish government had earlier intended to expand its presence in the economic sectors of countries in the Asian region, including Indonesia, as the country has committed to improving its business climate and technology in the manufacturing sector, Hapsoro pointed out. Several Swedish companies, including the automotive manufacturer Volvo, retail supplier IKEA, and furniture maker Electrolux, have invested in Indonesia. Swedish investment in Indonesia is estimated to reach around US$12.4 million. "The Indonesian government hopes that the value of Swedish investment would be increased in future," Hapsoro added.