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apan’s diversified group Sumitomo Corp. is planning to add to its already massive portfolio in Indonesia by injecting more than US$7 billion into new investments.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said the company’s $7 billion investment was on top of the existing funds it had spent in Indonesia.

“They [Sumitomo] already invested around $5 billion. Now they want to add more to that,” Jero said after a meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and visiting Sumitomo president & CEO Susumu Kato at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday.

“Their expansion here will be in the geothermal, coal mining, gas storage and regasification sectors,” Jero said.

Jero said Sumitomo’s interest in expanding its presence in Indonesia was due to stable political and security conditions as well as a solid economic growth outlook.

Indonesia’s economy grew by 6.5 percent last year, the fastest pace since the late-1997 Asian financial crisis. Realized foreign direct investment also grew by 18.4 percent last year, to $19.28 billion.

“Sumitomo will try to do the most to contribute to the future development and growth of Indonesia,” Susumu Kato said.

“I’ve conveyed my message [to the President] as a kind of commitment to future investment in Indonesia. We are putting in more than we did in the past.”

Sumitomo, which earns more than $1 billion from its Indonesian operations annually, recently completed the construction of Tanjung Jati B Expansion coal-fired power plant Unit 4 in Jepara, Central Java, which has a total capacity of 660 megawatts (MW) at a cost of more than $1 billion.

In November last year, Sumitomo entered the motorcycle and automobile auction business in Indonesia, in collaboration with several other Japanese companies, by purchasing new shares issued through a third-party allocation by PT. JBA Indonesia, an auction company that has already obtained an operating license in Indonesia.

Jero said that aside from Sumitomo, Japan’s Mitsui Group and Toshiba would also follow suit to add their investment in the country.

“There’ll be more coming. It’s Indonesia’s potential that they see. There’s one or two problems here, but that won’t affect the benefits they will reap here,” said Jero.