Indonesia Receives Renewable Energy Investment Commitments

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has received investment commitments worth US$4.01 billion in the renewable energy sector from British and Scottish companies.

The BKPM received the commitments through an "Indonesia Business Forum: Energy Policy Updates and Opportunity" held in cooperation with Scottish Development International (SDI) in Glasgow, Britain.

"They have shown interest to invest in solar energy projects, with a capacity of over 10 megawatts (MW), and off-shore tidal energy projects. Several companies have also sought our help to find potential partners inIndonesia," Deputy for Capital Investment Promotion Himawan Hariyoga noted in a press statement received on Tuesday.

He said the forum was organized by the government to support its commitment to achieve green investment growth after successfully organizing the Tropical Landscapes Summit late in April.

He stated that the forum, attended by around 25 renewable energy companies based in Britain and Scotland, was held concurrently with "All Energy Sector Conference and Exhibition 2015," in which Indonesia also participated through the Indonesia Investment Promotion Center.

"We have deliberately taken advantage of the momentum to explain our new investment policy and opportunities in the new and renewable energy sector in Indonesia to energy companies in Britain that have shown interest to invest in Indonesia," he affirmed.

He emphasized that the BKPM and IIPC London were committed to ably lead prospective investors.

SDI Senior Manager for Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Technologies Ewen Cameron stated that Scotland is a leader in the development of renewable energy in England, including Europe.

SDI itself is a Scottish government agency that deals with investment in the country as well as abroad.

"We are convinced that several cooperation opportunities can be utilized by Scottish, British, and Indonesian companies," he pointed out.

He admitted that his company, along with several British companies, will visit Jakarta to explore investment in the energy and oil and gas sectors with the concerned ministries and institutions in the country.

Indonesian Ambassador to Britain and Ireland Hamzah Thayeb hailed the business forum and hoped that British and Scottish investment in the renewable energy sector would continue to increase in the years to come.

"Scotland is worthy of being considered as an integrated investmentpromotion destination in the fields of new and renewable energy sources by the concerned ministries and government agencies. Several Scottish companies have shown great interest to invest and develop new and renewable energy sources in Indonesia. The cooperation, which has been established so far, can be used as an initial platform to boost investment in Indonesia," he affirmed.

According to BKPM's data for the past five years between 2010 and 2014, the total realization of green investment reached 30.3 percent of the total investment at around Rp486 trillion as compared to the total investment value recorded at Rp1.6 thousand trillion.

Of the total realization, Rp26.8 billion is foreign investment and Rp139.1 trillion is domestic investment.

The BKPM has set a target to achieve green investment growth at 20 percent a year, so that by 2019, foreign investment can reach US$56 billion and domestic investment, Rp448 trillion.

ANTARA