The Harvey Entertainment Company opened a US$10- million entertainment center last month in Jakarta, Indonesia. Plans for the center were set in motion following the strong reception the Harvey characters received in that region, says Jeffrey A. Montgomery, chairman and chief executive officer of The Harvey Entertainment Company.

‘It’s an important goal for us as a company to make the Harvey Comics brand as well known to children as it is to parents,’ says Charles Day, vice president of consumer products for Harvey.

Why Jakarta? ‘It’s a fast-growing consumer market with lots of families and young children,’ says Day, and the Harvey characters enjoy good TV exposure in Jakarta. Plus, he adds, ‘there isn’t an awful lot of competition in Indonesia.’

Day also acknowledges that the site could serve as the prototype for future centers. ‘We’re testing how well it performs in that marketplace with a view to how it would do in the rest of the world.’

Located in the largest shopping mall in Jakarta, the facility was built by Indonesian developer Pt. Anugerah Persada Utama, operator of Jakarta’s Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum and entertainment center. The facility will feature rides such as a Casper-inspired Ghoster Coaster, Baby Huey bumper cars and a Richie Rich swing ride.