U.S HELPS INVESTORS AIM AT ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ENERGY

Bandung, W Java, June 26 (ANTARA) - Prospects for funding environmentally friendly energy projects had lured the attention of more than 100 industrial experts and investors taking part in the Indonesian Clean Energy Investor Forum in Jakarta Thursday.

This forum presented projects taking part in a competition sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Private Finance Advisory Network (PFAN), a multilateral partnership between the government and private sector established by the International Energy Agency's Climate Technology
Initiative and run by USAID in Asia.

The PFAN Indonesia Clean Energy Investor Forum, according to a press release of the US embassy in Jakarta Thursday, is an event for Indonesian energy businesspeople to present their ideas to investors.

The nine finalists chosen by PFAN in the peak competition of the Indonesian Business Plan, with each company getting a personal mentoring and training before bringing them to an investment forum.

Total investment of the nine finalist projects reached more than 370 million US dollars, comprising loan funding and equity.
USAID stated that besides helping offer promising investment opportunities, the projects also have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than one million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.

Of the presentations, the panel of judges will choose two winners for the Clean Energy Financing Award from Indonesia.

"By combining environmentally friendly businesspeople and investors, the PFAN Indonesia Clean Energy Investor Forum will help overcome the various obstacles facing environmentally friendly energy businesses, especially in funding," Walter North, Director of USAID Indonesia said.

USAID, he said, believed that the initiative is an important first step in boosting investment in the development of an established environmentally friendly energy market in Indonesia.