Banten province is witnessing an upward trend in annual foreign direct investment (FDI). The value of realized foreign investment and domestic investment has been on the increase for the last three years. In 2017, investment flowing to Banten reached Rp 55.82 trillion (US$3.8 billion), higher than the previous year, which stood at Rp 52.23 trillion, with 2,980 projects.

Correspondingly, entering 2018, thanks to the Banten provincial administration’s persistence in promoting the region’s investment potential, Banten has seen an upward trend in investment. The realized investment for the first semester of 2018, for instance, was recorded at Rp 29.99 trillion, with 2,055 projects, according to the Investment Activity Report (LKPM) obtained by local investment office One-Stop Integrated Services (DMPTSP).

The increase in the realized investment has signified foreign investors’ growing interest in investing their capital in Banten. Based on the report, realized foreign investment in Banten province for the first semester ranked third after West Java and Jakarta, with an investment value of Rp 21.97 trillion from 1,518 projects. Meanwhile, domestic investment ranked seventh, with investment value of Rp 8 trillion and 537 projects.

The increase in the value of investment annually has proven that Banten has become one of the main investment destinations, for both foreign investment and domestic investment. Even from 2015 to 2017, Banten ranked in five big positions and as of the first semester of 2018, realized foreign investment jumped to the third position in investment destinations in Indonesia.  

Relying heavily on the region’s potential and geographical location is highly insufficient to boost investment growth. Through the DPMTSP, the Banten government has taken breakthrough steps, which include enhancing the ratio of the ease of doing business, changing the behavior of bureaucrats, establishing a taskforce to settle bottleneck related to business license, ensuring security, et cetera.

To fulfill investors’ substantial need for a simple, quick and effective service related to business permits, the Banten administration has applied an online one-stop-integrated service, making it unnecessary for investors to repeatedly visit relevant technical agencies to meet the proposed license conditions.      

Related to the high demand for a quick and efficient business license process, a significant step has also been taken by enhancing the capacity of officers in charge to enable them to provide better services and to create ease and comfort for prospective investors to start and develop their business.

 In this respect, the Banten administration has also obliged all of its regency and town administrations to set a taskforce whose major tasks are to bridge, solve and reduce the obstacles in the investment process, either in the license application phase or the implementation (debottlenecking). The taskforce is expected not only to help the Banten administration monitor the investment process but also to handle the arising license-related issues.

Apart from that, the Banten administration has also set up an integrated licensing program, or online single submission (OSS), to comply with Government Regulation No. 24/2018 on the electronic integrated business services, aimed at providing ease for investment in Indonesia. Under the OSS system, investors can handle nearly all of the licensing process, starting from the making of a corporate deed to obtaining a commercial license.

Investment security for investors

Ensuring comfort and security is a prerequisite for investments. Therefore, the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has teamed up a mutual work team with the National Police, with the two parties signing a working guideline for the coordination of protection and security for business in 2016. As an investment destination, the Banten administration, in collaboration with the regional police, is always ready to maintain the investment climate.

The Banten provincial government ensures security for the investors, starting from the licensing process, an inventory of the possible security disruptions around the investment activities to quick assistance in the event of a demonstration and unwanted violent actions by thugs.

Investment in tourism sector

Banten Governor Wahidin places the tourism sector as his priority program because Banten has great tourism potential, which includes special economic zone (SEZ) Tanjung Lesung. According to him, it is highly important to manage tourism destinations well and give a good impression to tourists visiting Banten. Currently, the Banten provincial government is focusing on the improvement of road access to local tourist attractions, including the area of Sultan Banten, known as Banten Lama (Old Banten) and Tanjung Lesung Beach.

For this reason, local administration has spurred the acceleration of various strategic national projects (PNS) to boost tourism in Banten, such as the SEZ of Tanjung Lesung, reactivation of the Labuan-Panimbang railway, the development of an 84-kilometer-long Serang-Panimbang toll road and the revitalization of Banten Lama.

The efforts to revitalize Banten Lama have seen much progress following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Banten provincial government and the Serang municipality in July.

For example, a canal in the area, which was formerly a slum and dirty area where illegal businesses operated, has been cleaned up as it will be developed into a water tourism facility. An old mosque has also been revitalized, with its front yard already looking clean, neat and orderly. A bus terminal has also been built close to the house of prayer to provide more tourists with easy access to the site.

The initial phase of the development of Banten Lama is expected to be completed in December. Banten Lama will have a new face as a religious tourism destination and is expected to attract more domestic and international travelers, which will boost investment in tourism and other sectors.

On the other hand, the government is focusing its attention on boosting investment to develop tourism potential. As one of the 10 national priority destinations, the Tanjung Lesung Beach area takes center stage, especially with the area expected to welcome 1 million tourist arrivals in 2019, as the government has targeted.  

The Tanjung Lesung area covers an area of 1,500 hectares, with diverse tourism potential, including the beauty of the natural beach, flora and fauna diversity and a wealth of exotic cultures.

Apart from the property and leisure sectors, investors can also take the opportunity to invest in the transportation and logistics sector and other service sectors that support tourism business-related activities in the area.

The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status for the Tanjung Lesung area is expected to make the area attractive to investors.

The status of Tanjung Lesung Beach area as an SEZ is expected to benefit investors because the area has already provided what investors need: the master plan for long-term development, basic infrastructure such as power supply, a clean water plant, a waste management plant, land with certificates etc, according to Poernomo Siswoprasetijo, president director of PT Banten West Java Tourism Development, a developer of the Tanjung Lesung Beach area.

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