REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM - Seven foreign companies are interested to invest worth 13.1 million USD in Batam this year. Those sectors will provide opportunity for 275 local workers of Batam if they realize their investment.
"The seven companies come from China, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Canada. They target the printing equipment industry, bio-ethanol and bio-energy, lubricating oil re-processing, as well as power generation and trading industry," Head of Sub Directorate of Public Relations and Publications Board Concession of Batam (BP Batam), Ilham Eka Hartawan, said on Thursday.
From January to June 2013, there were 51 foreign and multinational companies had expressed their interest to invest in Batam worth 77.28 million USD. BP Batam then asked them to realize their investment only in three years.
BP Batam starts to prioritizing companies with environmentally friendly products or green industry to preserve existing natural resources. BP Batam is no longer looking for industry using much water, such as textiles and palm oil, as the availability of clean water in Batam decreases drastically.