Japan targets to invest $3B in ASEAN

JAKARTA, Jan 12, 2020, ANTARA. The Japanese government has targeted to invest US$3 billion in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region in the next three years, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said, ANTARA reported.

“Japan is looking forward to mobilizing US$3 billion in fund in the nest three years from 2020 to 2022,” Toshimitsu said during an official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat here on Friday.

The fund can be channeled to government and private sectors as economic cooperation fund based on the principle of “collecting wisdom”, he said.

The principle is one of Japan’s three new foreign policies for ASEAN aimed at accommodating a variety of local wisdom in each ASEAN member state, he said.

The fund will be channeled, among others, through Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which is ready to provide investment and loans worth US$1.2 billion, he said.

The fund will be used for investment and loans for high quality infrastructure projects in ASEAN including power plant, urban development, transportation, communication and information sectors, he said.

Citing an example, he said the development of mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Jakarta constitutes cooperation between Indonesia and Japan in the infrastructure sector. The cooperation concerns not only the construction of subway line but also the activation of integrated metropolitan transportation.

The development of high quality infrastructures needs not only fund and technology from the provider but also proactive idea from the recipient country in accordance with situation in the field, he said.

The investment has at least two other goals, first, improving financial assess, empowering women through small and medium businesses and providing micro financing; and second, promoting green investment for sustainable environment as part of efforts to mitigate global climate change by building solar power and other energy- efficient projects.