REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Singapore's new investments in Indonesia reached US$5.04 billion or rose 38 percent in the first half of the year compared with the same period last year. In the whole of 2017, Singapore's new investments were valued at US$8.44 billion in the country, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said here on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's exports of non-oil/gas commodities to Singapore were valued at US$9 billion making that neighboring country the fifth largest destination of Indonesia's exports of commodities other than oil and gas.
Airlangga said he had been active in seeking to attract investors from Singapore to do business in the Kendal Industrial Estate (KIK), which is jointly developed by Indonesian and Singaporean investors in Central Java.
"Currently we already have more than 43 tenants in KIK. We will focus on development of furniture polytechnics in the industrial estate," the minister said.
KIK will be the first integrated industrial estate in Central Java. It is expected to draw up to Rp200 trillion.
In the first phase the industrial estate will occupy 1,000 hectares plot of land with target of 300 tenants to open 500,000 jobs until 2025.
"To be an integrated industrial estate KIK will be developed in three phases to occupy 2,700 hectares of land. It will be an integration of industrial zone, port, fashion city and residence area," Airlangga said.
He said the two countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the vocational education mainly to supply trained industrial workers for the industrial estate.
"Teaching staff from Indonesia have been sent to take part in a program of vocational training in Singapore such as in machinery, power generation industrial automation technique," he said.
Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Ngurah Swajaya said potential collaboration between Indonesia and Singapore is in digital economy in line with the era of industrial revolution 4.0.
"One of the priorities is development of Nongsa Digital Park in Batam as a realization of agreement between the governments of two countries to make Batam as a`digital bridge, from Singapore to Indonesia," the ambassador said.
Airlangga held a meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Chan Chun Sing, also attended by Director General of Development of International Industrial Access I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan.
The two ministers discussed preparation for "Leaders Retreat" to be held in Bali on 11 October 2018.
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