Jakarta: South Korea's LG Electronics and US equipment maker Caterpillar Inc may pick Indonesia as their southeast Asian manufacturing base, as Jakarta takes on regional rivals Vietnam and Thailand.
Indonesia's investment chief said surging consumption, competitive labour costs and confidence in its stability were attracting foreign investment, particularly from Asian and Middle Eastern firms in electronics, infrastructure and energy. "LG is thrilled with the fact that they have become 40 per cent market share holders in Indonesia and the growth is just staggering. They are contemplating positioning Indonesia as a hub for Southeast Asia," Gita Wirjawan said yesterday.
"The labour cost structure is already much more competitive than China and Vietnam," said Wirjawan, a former JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs banker.
