Jakarta. Investment commitments from both local and foreign investors in Indonesia soared in the first two months of this year compared to the same period a year earlier thanks to the government's efforts to streamline procedures for getting business permits, authorities said.

Investment commitments in January-February this year reached Rp 355 trillion ($27 billion), up 167 percent from the same period a year earlier, Franky Sibarani, chairman of Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), said on Wednesday (16/03).

Foreign direct investments tripled to Rp 281 trillion while investments by local companies rose 66 percent to Rp 75 trillion.

The lion's share of investment came from the United States, valued at $16.2 billion, followed by investment commitments from China at $395 million, British Virgin Islands at $323 million, Singapore at $302 million and South Korea at $292 million.

Only 11 percent of the commitments were in Java, Franky said, an encouraging sign that development is spread across the archipelago.

He said his agency's three-hour licensing service initiative introduced last year has shown some success in attracting investments. For example, in February alone, there were seven companies from China, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea, who acquired permits for their combined Rp 9.1 trillion investments, which will potentially provide jobs for 5,762 workers.