Indonesian tycoon plans 111-floor tower An Indonesian tycoon is attempting to defy the global economic gloom with lofty plans to build a $2bn, 111-storey tower in central Jakarta later this year. Tomy Winata's Artha Graha group, which is involved in property, banking, logistics and agriculture, said that the Signature Tower would be the highest in Jakarta and the world's fifth tallest upon completion in five years' time. The politically well-connected businessman is hoping to tap into soaring investor interest in Indonesia, at a time when growth in other major Asian economies is slowing and the West remains in the doldrums. "We think this is the right moment for building the tower," said Agung Prabowo, a director of Danayasa Arthatama, an Artha Graha subsidiary company focused on the property sector. With a fast growing Indonesian economy, we expect that by the time the tower is finished, the supply of office space and rooms will meet demand. Danayasa Arthatama reached an agreement earlier this week with MGM Resorts International, a US-listed casino and hospitality group, to manage a luxury hotel on the top 20 floors of the building which will rise 534.5m above ground level according to the architect's plans. Mr Prabowo said that 30-40 per cent of the construction costs would be funded internally, with the group now seeking syndicated bank loans to cover the rest. Bankers said that despite Indonesia's booming economy, with GDP growing by 6.5 per cent last year, securing this level of funding would not be easy given reduced risk appetite from banks in Europe and America. "The key question mark hanging over a mega project like this will be the financing," said one banker in Jakarta. The giant tower will also increase the pressure on Jakarta's deficient infrastructure, with traffic regularly grinding to a halt across this sprawling city of more than 10m people. But Anton Sitorus, head of Indonesian research for Jones Lang LaSalle, a property consultancy, said he was "quite optimistic that this project will be realised considering that market conditions are at a historic high in terms of demand, occupancy rates and potential growth." He said that Jakarta was one of the fastest growing office rental markets in Asia, with high-end office rents in the central business district increasing by 35 per cent last year and the occupancy rate forecast to rise to 95 per cent by 2013 due to the arrival of new foreign investors and expansion by Indonesian companies. The Signature Tower will be built in the Sudirman Central Business District, a 45 hectare development controlled by Mr Winata's business group and home to the Indonesia Stock Exchange and many banks and international companies. The Artha Graha group is also the lead developer on an ambitious, government-backed plan to build what would be the world's longest bridge, spanning the 30km Sunda Strait that separates the main Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. Additional reporting by Taufan Hidayat