Jakarta willing to supply land for Hon Hai facility-report
TAIPEI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The governor of Indonesia's capital said he is willing to provide up to 200 hectares (494 acres) of land to Taiwanese electronics giant Hon Hai Precision Industry to build a factory there as part of a bid to attract more high-tech investments.
Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo told Taiwan's Central News Agency (CAN) in an interview on Friday that other than land in Marunda in north Jakarta, he promised Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou that the capital will also provide necessary infrastructure and workers.
There was no immediate confirmation from Widodo's office.
The government sent the location proposal to the company a month ago and the area of land on offer would equal about 373 American football fields.
Hon Hai, better known by its trading name Foxconn, has been in talks with the Indonesian government on an investment agreement for more than a year, but the negotiations have been stalled over tax issues.
The world's largest electronics contract maker told Reuters last month it expects an agreement with local authorities of Jakarta or Yogyakarta in February and it plans to set up joint ventures with local private firms to tap the Southeastern Asian market.
In December, Foxconn and BlackBerry Ltd announced a deal to design and market phones in Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country, but one that is considered an under-penetrated market. Before setting up a factory in Indonesia, Foxconn will make BlackBerry phones at its Chinese factories.
Widodo told CAN that Gou requested 200 hectares of land in the province, but Jakarta has only 80 hectares available at the moment, although the government is ready to open up more land for Hon Hai.
Indonesian government officials have said Hon Hai wants to gradually invest as much as $10 billion over five years with local partner Erajaya Swasembada, and Indonesia will offer the Taiwanese firm a tax package aimed at kickstarting the plan. Hon Hai has yet to confirm the details.
