Kalla met with a number of Japanese business leaders such as Inpex Corporation chairman Naoki Kuroda, Tokyo Gas president/representative director Michiaki Hirose and Mitsui executive vice president Shintaro Ambe.

The vice president was accompanied by Industry Minister Saleh Husin, Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) chief Franky Sibarani and Vice Presidential Expert Team chief Sofjan Wanandi.

Kalla, who is attending the UN's Natural Disaster Mitigation Conference, said the Japanese companies were still very interested in investing in Indonesia, especially since Japan was traditionally a large investor in Indonesia.

He added that those companies wanted to invest more in a number of regions, especially in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia.

'€œThey are happy and want an even smoother bureaucracy,'€ he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

'€œThe Japanese companies are mainly talking about electricity and gas supplies as well as ports.'€

Investments on infrastructure and exploration are mainly outside Java, while manufacturing is on Java, he added.

Meanwhile, Saleh said the investments would be in various sectors, such as automotive, gas and electricity.

Previously on Monday, Japanese Ambassador to Jakarta Yasuaki Tanizaki said his country was optimistic about increasing investment in a number of sectors, saying that a number of Japanese companies viewed Indonesia as a the most interesting market.

The envoy said that Japanese investment in 2014 reached US$2.7 billion in some 1,200 projects. (nvn)(++++)

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