The foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia hit 228.3 trillion rupiah (18. 6 billion USD) in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 14.6 percent.

According to Chairman of Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Mahendra Siregar, domestic investment during the period grew by 21.6 percent to 114.4 trillion rupiah (9.36 billion USD), raising the country’s total investment to 342.7 trillion rupiah (28 billion USD), up 16.8 percent.

That exceeds this year's investment target of a 15-percent growth, he said, adding that the board forecast the investment to scale up by 18 percent next year.

He said that the country's efforts to improve the quality of bureaucracy, which has been one of the bottle necks in attracting international investors, have been on progress recently.

The FDI attraction of the biggest economy in the region has improved after Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service hiked its sovereign credit rating to investment grade in late 2011 and early 2012, respectively.

The country's competitiveness rank has jumped to 34 from 58, partly due to improvements on bureaucracy with simpler investment licence application, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Indonesia , with a population of over 238 million and abundant natural resources, boasts a strong consumer demand and steady economic growth.

Its economy is expected to expand by 5.6 percent next year, higher than this year's projection of 5.2 to 5.3 percent.-VNA