Indonesia named one of top ten global investment targets

Indonesia has been identified as one of the top markets for global investors, according to new research published by UK Trade & Investment. The ‘Great Expectations: Doing business in emerging markets’ report offers new insights from international investors about which markets they see as being the global growth engines of the future. The report is based on a survey of more than 520 global executives from every sector.

All respondents are already doing business in emerging markets or plan to do so in the next two years. “The balance of global power is shifting and this is recognised in UK Trade & Investment’s research. Markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, Argentina, etc is tipped to be one of the global growth engines in the coming decades.

UK firms are using their expertise to help promote that growth,” the UK Business Secretary Vince Cable said, while launching the new research in London. Meawnhile, Deputy Head of Mission of British Embassy Jakarta Rebecca Razavi said he was very pleased to hear that Indonesia was named as one of the top markets for global investors this year.

“As the largest economy in SE Asia and as a member of G20, Indonesia has an increasingly important role on the world stage, and is a key trade and investment partner for the UK. This encouraging report by the UK Trade and Investment is another example of the positive view global investors have of Indonesia’s potential to grow stronger as an emerging market in this region. And the UK is fully committed to work with the Indonesian government to help make that happen,” Razavi said as quoted by the British embassy in Jakarta website

Key findings include: Emerging markets are viewed as sources of new consumer demand. 76% of investors see emerging markets as a source of new business growth. Only one quarter of companies intend to rely on their existing products and services in emerging markets. Most companies intend to customise their offerings for new markets.

Indonesia has been selected as number two investment destination, beyond the BRICs, for 2010. The top three markets for investors in the next two years are China (20%), Vietnam (19%), India (18%). 71% of respondents agreed that emerging markets beyond the BRIC countries collectively offer an opportunity too big to ignore. Companies are now prioritising a range of other countries alongside their well-established operations in the BRIC countries. For many firms, emerging markets are increasingly familiar places.

Nearly half of the respondents have been operating in one or more emerging markets for at least a decade and two thirds have been there for six years or more. Institutional knowledge of these countries is far higher than it was at the turn of the century. Far more executives believe that the potential rewards far outstrip the risks within both the BRIC countries and other emerging markets. 52% expect growth prospects for their once-risky emerging markets business to be “significantly better” over the next two years. Local companies in emerging markets are sought after for partnerships and alliances.

Despite a greater ease with the risks of new places, the need to tap into local knowledge and contacts quickly remains strong.

(The Jakarta Post)

Popularity: 3% [?]