An Indonesian official said that labor wage increases in China had made Indonesia more competitive in the global market, local media reported Saturday.

Indonesian Electronics Producers Association (Gabel) Deputy Secretary-general Yeane Keet said the minimum salary of a worker in Southeast China reached 220 US dollars per month.

"We hope that electronic factories in neighboring countries (in Southeast Asia) relocate soon to Indonesia," Yeane was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.

She said that several internationally renowned electronic brands including Panasonic, Sanyo, Epson, Sharp and LG, had made Indonesia their global production base for several of their products.

Panasonic promised earlier that the company would soon relocate more factories to Indonesia.

The Industry Ministry estimated the country's electronics production value would increase 10 percent to 94.3 trillion rupiah (about 10.5 billion US dollars) this year from 85.7 trillion rupiah (some 9.5 billion US dollars) last year.

To achieve that amount, the ministry said, the country should boost investment in the sector. The ministry expects this year's total investment value to reach 15 trillion rupiah (some 1.6 billion US dollars).

In 2009, the investment in the electronics sector reached 12 trillion (some 1.3 billion US dollars), a drop from the 17 trillion rupiah (some 1.8 billion US dollars) a year earlier due to the global financial downturn.

As of early this year, 235 electronics companies operate in Indonesia.