Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 7 -- Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has held meetings with Malaysia's top energy companies, offering them incentives to invest in his country's developing bioenergy industry.
Susilo met with executives from Genting Plantation & Biodiesel, Sime Darby Bhd., Khazanah Finance, Telecommunications & Infrastructure, and Petronas in Kuala Lmpur on Aug 4.
Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the government could offer investors several incentives. He said Pertamina and state power firm PT PLN would serve as standby buyers of biofuel produced from future plants.
Purnomo also said a team would soon draw up regulations to ease the entry of foreign firms into his country's bioenergy industry. "We hope that all the necessary regulations will be ready by the year 2008 and we can start production in 2009," Purnomo said.
Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said, "We consider the biofuel industry to be strategic and labor-intensive and thus deserving of special treatment."
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