Foreign media's negative slant has put off investors, says Indonesia

One of Indonesia's top economic officials has urged foreign investors to put their faith and money into the country, saying that the picture painted by the international media is overly bleak.

Theo Toemion, chairman of Indonesia's powerful Investment Co-ordinating Board, said yesterday that his agency was engaged in a never-ending 'battle' with international press and television agencies over their depiction of conditions in the country.

'In attracting new investments to Indonesia, we have to continually battle the international media who [have] contributed to the negative perception of our investment climate,' Mr Toemion told yesterday's investment promotion conference in Singapore. 'I was once interviewed by the press and I mentioned that it is very unfortunate our fate is dependent on CNN and CNBC.'

Mr Toemion said restoring a solid flow of international capital was essential to bolster economic growth, help repair state finances, and alleviate widespread poverty.

Indonesia - once a favourite destination for foreign capital, especially Japanese - is now commonly regarded as among the world's least attractive prospects. The fatal blasts in Bali last year underlined potent fears about security conditions in a country that is also wracked by several, violent separatist struggles.

Executives also say corruption is endemic, the legal system unreliable and infrastructure poor, and that recent moves towards decentralisation have added greater complexity and confusion.