"We have to think not only of the quantity (number) but also of the quality aspect of investments that come into the country. This is important because what benefits an investment will bring to the state, the region and community concerned will depend on its quality," he said when kicking off activities to mark East Nusa Tenggara`s Investment Day here on Tuesday.
Therefore, he said, the egions need to rank investments in terms of their quality. Based on the ranking, development policies that are capable of boosting people`s welfare optimally could be made by the central and regional governments.
"(We must) choose which investments have high quality and need to be supported and which ones are less qualitative that could be ignored or given less support," he said.
Boediono said one of the measurements to determine a qualitative investment is the total impact of the investment on the country`s economy and public welfare.
The bigger is its linkage with the economy and its multiplying effect the more qualitative an investment is, he said.
As an example of a less qualitative investment he referred to an investment in extractive business which only extracts mining materials for sale.
"If the investment is only extracting earth or mining materials whether they are nickel, coal or manganese for sale abroad later its linkage is almost none. At most we only receive the cost of the earth, the value of which could actually be multiplied," he said.
Another less qualitative invesment is investment for shopping malls which contain outlets for imported products, he said.
"If the investment is in the form of a shopping mall it is also worth almost nothing as the outlets there are actually shops that sell imported products," he said.
When referring to qualitative investments Boediono mentioned infrastructure projects. "Generally infrastructure projects have wide linkages such as ports, geothermal power plants, roads, airports and therefore they could not be carried out by the government by itself.
On the occasion Vice President Boediono also called on regional governments to improve investment climate in their respective regions to boost development to improve the people`s welfare.
He said regional governments must not only rely on national and regional budgets which are limited to boost their economies.
"The regional budget is limited, the national budget is also limited. They at most could only be used for financing social programs. If we have a future mission, wish to develop, advance our regions investment is the key to it," he said.
(T.M041/H-YH/HAJM/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
