JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): A business group representing several manufacturing, pharmaceutical, data center and education companies, as well as the Inland Port Association and the World Trade Center from the state of Utah, in the United States, visited Batam, Riau Islands, on June 11, to explore investment opportunities.
Dustin Daugherty, managing director of global business services at World Trade Center Utah said the group had arranged a business trip, led by Utah State Senator Lincoln Fillmore, to visit Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, to look for the best investment policies.
"We wanted to come to Indonesia, and Batam is located very close to Singapore and integrated with the business community in the country, which we consider a gateway. We came here expecting many semi-conductor industries with high technology and we are interested in the development of Batam.
"The city has the potential to continue developing its infrastructure, and being integrated with the business communities in Singapore and Malaysia would allow Batam to be more advanced," said Daugherty.
Among the sites visited were the Wiraraja Industrial Area in Kabil and Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) and Infinite Studio. The group also had a meeting with Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad before continuing its trip to Singapore.
The group also established a strategic partnership in the fields of investment and trade with the Riau Islands' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) aiming to utilise shared resources and expertise for joint growth and collaboration.
Makruf Maulana, PT Wiraraja Group president director and Riau Islands' Kadin chair, said the business group arranged the trip to directly look for investment opportunities, especially in the renewable energy sector, such as the solar panel industry.
Governor Ansar said the visit was a follow-up to the previous visit of Kadin and Indonesian representatives in February.
"We hope that this business trip will grab their attention. We invited them to Bintan and other regencies and encouraged them to start investing so that we can also increase the size of the US investment in Riau Islands," said Ansar.
Ansar is optimistic that investment opportunities in the province, especially in the Batam, Bintan, and Karimun Free Trade Zone areas, could attract investors.
