The world’s largest shipping line Maersk will not make a major forward asset investment in Indonesia’s port or domestic shipping sector until investment concerns have been addressed and resolved by the Indonesian government, according to the Journal of Commerce.
Jakob Friis Sorensen, President Director of Maersk Line Indonesia, said: “We are here as a service company at the moment and have not made a major asset investment because a number of things are still a concern to foreign investors and those things need to be addressed.
“Under current conditions, I cannot present an investment document that would be approved at head office.
“They need to remove the limitations on foreign ownership that exist in a number of sectors. The reality is direct and indirect restrictions mean foreign ownership is limited to 49% in many cases.
“Making things less complicated is also important. But there also needs to be a fundamental change in outlook: Indonesia needs to decide if it wants to be part of the global community. If it decides that it seriously wants to open up and realise its potential, then there is a lot of work to do.
“I am very optimistic that it [the reforms] will happen. The potential is enormous. I describe it as ‘the best untold story on CNN’; there is a new democracy with lots of reforms being taken; the army is out of politics and business. It is like a gentle giant that is slowly awakening from its slumber.”
It was previously alleged that Maersk would be investing around $3 billion into Indonesia’s logistics business. However, this has since been verified as inaccurate.
Jakob Friis Sorensen said: “The $3 billion corresponds to equivalent spend on the entire Port of Jakarta masterplan for the next ten or 20 years, including power plants, hinterland access, port expansion, and so on. Or it would probably fund the purchase of the entire domestic shipping fleet.”
