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Melbourne. Investors in Australia have been urged to plow their funds into Indonesia’s rapidly growing resources and energy sector.

An investment seminar on Tuesday, organized by Australia-based bank ANZ, gave Indonesian companies an opportunity to sell themselves to potential investors.

Joseph Abraham, the president director of ANZ’s Indonesian unit, ANZ Panin, said the large commodity sector in both countries meant there were opportunities for shared expertise and capital.

“Indonesia is a natural magnet for foreign direct investment. Now we have to make sure that we maintain that,” Abraham said.

He said that with Indonesia’s strong economic fundamentals, as well as new government regulations in the works that will require the processing of raw materials prior to export, “Indonesia is a ready field for more investment.’’

Indonesian companies — including state gold and nickel producer Aneka Tambang, state gas firm Perusahaan Gas Negara and its state electricity counterpart Perusahaan Listrik Negara — were present at the seminar promoting greater investment in the archipelago.

Speaking after the forum, Antam chief financial officer Djaja Tambunan said that once the 2014 ban on raw commodity shipments came into effect, foreigners could no longer buy nickel ore.

“One way to ensure continuity in the supply of the commodity is to invest,” he said.

Antam plans to build ferronickel plans in Maluku and North Maluku, as well as a nickel pig iron plant in Maluku. It needs $1 billion to finance its expansion this year, Djaja said.

He said the company was in search of a partner for an alumina smelter in Maluku and had received offers from companies in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and Europe.

The company said late last month that it would sell $150 million of bonds in November.

PGN director Wahid Sutopo said that a precondition of foreign investment in the company was that the Indonesian government — which will likely remain the controlling shareholder — needed to ensure a stable supply of natural gas from producers including ConocoPhillips, Pertamina and Medco.

Wahid said he was communicating his concerns on the issue to government.

PLN director Nur Pramudji said his company was open to investment, especially in the building of power generators. “The electrification rate [proportion of households with access to power] in Indonesia today is only about 66.5 percent, so there is a lot of room to grow,” he said.

Abraham said Indonesia was home to ANZ’s largest network of branches outside Australia and New Zealand. He said that put the bank in a strong position to facilitate transactions between the archipelago and the antipodean nations.

Established in 1993, ANZ Panin is 85 percent controlled by ANZ Banking Group and 15 percent by Bank Panin. Shares in Bank Panin fell 1.6 percent to Rp 610 in Tuesday trading.

The reporter traveled to Melbourne as a guest of ANZ.