29 German companies want to invest in Indonesia

Jakarta, April 16 (Antara) - At least 29 German companies want to invest in Indonesia prompted by the prospects of ASEAN free trade scheme by the end of 2015. "Currently we have 29 companies planning to invest in Indonesia as Indonesia has great attraction for investors," chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce Jan Roennfeld said in a seminar on "ASEAN 2015 and beyond: Are German investors missing out?" here on Thursday. Roennfeld said the 19 German companies do not want to miss the opportunities to take advantage of the open market of ASEAN He said ASEAN is one of fast growing markets in the world representing three percent of the world's gross domestic products. One of the 29 companies plans to invest in automotive industry, which is more promising in Indonesia, he said. German investment in Indonesia was around 500 million euro or the third largest in ASEAN after Singapore and Malaysia, he said. Roennfeld said many German investors hesitated to invest in Indonesia and were discouraged by conflicting regulations . However, Thomas Wirtz, head of the German Business Center Ernst&Young in Indonesia, said German investors would paid for their hesitation . They will missed opportunities, such as they did in China. German investors had hesitated to invest in China but later China has grown fast over the past `15 years, Thomas said. It would be a mistake for German companies to let the opportunities to pass , he said, adding, "They must not make the same mistake as they did in China."