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ike other bankers, US-based Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin saw Indonesia as promising in the 1990s, but were rebuffed by the Asian economic crisis. But now they bounced back into business in Indonesia.

The 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis hit Indonesia hard and big firm went bankrupt, rebuffing US investors.

Many decided not to come back, but Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin came back in 2008, finding new opportunities too good to miss.

"We are now doing more work in Indonesia than anywhere in Asia other than China and Japan," Zukin said during a meeting with visiting Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chairman Gita Wirjawan at the Asia Society office in New York on Thursday.

This US investment bank is now doing business with two leading Indonesian family-controlled groups and looking at more partnerships.

Zukin said later he saw Indonesia as the most promising investment destination in Southeast Asia, but many foreign investors failed to see this.

"How can they see the potential if they do not come and see the opportunities themselves?" he asked. "Even if they do, they do not understand the culture well, and do not even speak the language."

"When we came back, we were more sophisticated and sent one of our most senior bankers who spoke Bahasa Indonesia. So, we understood the culture better," Zukin said.

For Gita, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin is an exception because US and European Union (EU) investors are the hardest to get for Indonesia.

Gita noted the most loyal investors to Indonesia are neighboring Southeast Asian countries, plus those from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

"No matter what, they continue to invest in Indonesia," he said.

The next most loyal include countries hungry for Indonesia's natural resources, including China and India. They defy perceptions and continue to invest in Indonesia's coal, palm oil, forestry, oil and gas.

"The end game is quite simple for us, basically, how do we position ourselves nicely in the international community, how to convince people from Omaha and Nebraska to put a dollar into Indonesia?

"If I can convince the investor to put one dollar into Indonesia, then a billion dollars will come," Gita said.

Wayne Forrest, president of the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, reminded Gita to also take care of foreign investors who are already active in Indonesia by seriously addressing their concerns.

Forrest highlighted two areas where US investors are worried, with uncertainty due to changing regulations and on tax issues.

He highlighted the need for sustainable ownership rights. "If you want to attract foreign capital, people need to be comfortable with ownership rights," Forrest told Gita.

Gita promised the government would look at ways to improve the investment climate via faster licensing processes and by opening up more sectors to foreign investors.

He explained that BKPM offers a one-stop licensing service to reduce the business licensing process to only five hours in some cases and seven days at the longest.

BKPM has been delegated licensing authority from 15 ministries, including national education, health, forestry, industry and manpower as well as the National Police.

"Once an investor gets a license from us, they can start their business immediately, provided that they don't need land or building permits. That's still outside my area," he said.