|
 |
|
Indonesian miners carry blocks of sulpher from the caldera near the Ijen crater in Bondowoso, East Java. Indonesia's eons of volcanic activity has left it with massive natural resources. Photo: IC
|
Given enough time, Paul Jauri can offer a long list of titles when introducing himself.
He is the senior advisor to the CEO of a large gold mining company in Indonesia, advisor to the Indonesian legal consulting firm AZP, senior advisor of the Indonesia-China Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) Chamber, and special advisor to the State-owned Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board.
But if he finds he is speaking with someone from China, his opening speech is always short and straight.
"I'm from Indonesia, and I'm Chinese," he says with a broad grin, never forgetting to give his Chinese name, Yao Ziying, with a strong Fujianese accent.
Then he produces his name card, which displays his title at the Indonesia-China SME Chamber and said: "If you want to invest in Indonesia, I can certainly help."
Jauri used this as icebreaking routine while meeting new attendants to the 3rd "Fortune 500 & APEC SMEs" forum held last week at Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province in China's southeast, if he thought they probably could be potential investors in Indonesia.
Finding Chinese investment for Indonesia was also Jauri's major mission at the previous times when the forum was held in Qingdao, Shandong Province, in 2006 and 2008. But this time, Jauri told himself that he had to move faster in his investment promotion.
"China now has the best ever chance to invest in Indonesia, and you cannot afford to miss it again," said the 72-year-old gold mine owner. Jauri was born and still resides in Indonesia, but his ancestral roots are in a small village in Putian, about 60 kilometers south of Fuzhou.
He said his belief in the urgency of channeling more Chinese investment to Indonesia was actually sparked at a coal trade fair at Beijing last month.
"At the fair, some Indian businessmen were touting coal they dug out at Indonesia to Chinese buyers, and I could see the buyers were quite interested in the high-quality and cheap coal. But I know for sure that the deals were to the buyers' disadvantages," he said, a trace of shrewdness flashing across his big eyes behind a round pair of spectacles.
|
