TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) wants bigger investment in the cinema industry. The BPKM said it can be done by increasing the number of movie theaters in the country thus creating opportunities for the development of the Indonesian film industry.

"Currently, the number of cinemas in Indonesia is not more than 1,100," BKPM chief Franky Sibarani said in a press release Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Before building new theaters, Franky said, the BKPM will encourage businesses to increase the number of screens in movie theaters.

With more screens available, he said, there will be more Indonesian movies being screened in theaters. "With the help of foreign investors in increasing the quality [of Indonesian files], there is a possibility to export Indonesian movies," Franky said.

Investing in movie theaters, he added, will encourage movie production, increase the supply of Indonesian films, and hopefully raise the quality of local production.

Franky said that the movie industry is a prospective investment alternative. With the increasing growth of the middle class, especially in densely populated cities, the availability of widescreen cinemas creates business prospects.

According to the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf), the screen-to-population ratio in Indonesia is very low at just 0.4, far below the United States' 14, the UK's 6.8, South Korea's 4.3, and China's 1.8. In the Southeast Asian region, Indonesia is also behind Singapore (3.9), Malaysia (2.4), and Thailand (1.2).

The spread of cinemas in the country is also unbalanced, with 87 percent of movie theaters located in Java, and 35 percent of that number is in Jakarta.

BAGUS PRASETIYO