Indonesia's National Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) said it expected investment to grow by some 15% in 2014, or from about Rp 398 trillion ($32.6 billion) to between Rp 456 and 457 trillion($37.5 billion).
“Our economic growth this year is expected to be at around 5.8%, and this is quite good,” BKPM head Mahendra Siregar said on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Mahendra said that more infrastructures needed to be built to avoid bottlenecks and inefficiencies in production that could harm investment.
Investment in biodiesel production from palm oil was also expected to rise, said Mahendra.
Mahendra said that the BKPM had issued smelting building permits to 28 companies, 3 of which will complete smelters this year in order to process bauxite, nickel and iron ore.
In the palm oil sector, downstreaming would be encouraged by a drive to use biodiesel domestically, he said. At present, palm oil is usually exported in crude form.
“The supply chain, back and front, should also be rearranged, because if not there will be no sustainability,” he said. “If the cacao plantations are not reordered, in two years we will have to import cacao beans even if our downstreaming drive is successful. It is the same with [crude palm oil] and in mining.”
He said consistent policy was the key to developing Indonesia's processing capabilities.