Indonesia - Business Creation and Experience

If you invest in an INDONESIAN company, you will need to transform the CV/PT into a PTPMA (company with foreign investment).
I had never done this, I can't tell you how much it can cost and I think nobody can tell you exactly how much it cost. It would depend of many thing, I heard it can range from 3000$ to 5000$.
It can take easily 1 year and more to set up.

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http://www.livinginindonesiaforum.org/showthread.php/38700-Business-Valuation-In-Indonesia

I haven't invested in any SMEs, but I own one (listed as a PMA). In my experience networking with other SMEs and start-ups here in Indonesia, I can tell you that:

-Companies looking for investors are notoriously overvalued. If the start-up is tech-based, there isn't much of a foundation for 'case studies' here in the Indonesian market, so accurate projections are really hard to make. And, of course, you have the issue (that Waarmstrong already brought up) of the credibility and integrity of the 'consultants' doing the valuation. Everybody wants to get paid, at the expense of the investor.

-The business plans that most Indonesian start-ups and SMEs have are entirely unrealistic and their annual budgets are neither comprehensive nor complete. They dramatically over-estimate annual growth and profits and dramatically under-estimate annual expensive and overhead -- they also like to be very unspecific. 'Other Costs' is a favorite category. When going over business plans, go over them with a fine-toothed comb. Make sure every penny is accounted for in the projected expenses and that their projected earnings are realistic -- and backed by a solid plan. 

-Bookkeeping is sketchy (at best). If you're going to invest in a company and then walk away, well, you can probably kiss your money goodbye. If you intend to actually recoup your investment -- and maybe even make a profit -- you're going to need to be actively involved in the management of the company, especially when it comes to the accounting. I would suggest hiring a third party accounting firm to manage the books, in order to prevent your investment from becoming the founder's personal slush fund.

-Even when the founders/owners of the company have good intentions, they're not always equipped to do the job correctly. Organizational skills, the ability to forecast for the future and plan for rainy days, and 'execution' are all skills that are lacking here. Any investor needs to be prepared for some intensive mentorship and monitoring and involvement. 

-The short-term profits over long-term profitability mindset will bite you in the ass. The goal for most start-ups here is to create their business, get a high valuation, sell to investors, and walk. You will find that many 'entrepreneurs' don't have the 'sticktoitiveness' to actually push their start-up through the messy, murky, in-the-red phase and just bail as soon as their is any profit to be had -- which means the investors get left holding the chips.

-The age and financial background of the business owners needs to be taken into consideration: a LOT of local start-ups are founded by rich kids. They study abroad and come back to Indonesia and use their parents' money to start their companies. Why is that risky for an investor? Because they don't have the maturity, skills, or experience to lead the companies that they started, yet are unwilling to step back and let experts take the lead. Also, because they don't *need* the money -- it wasn't their money to begin with, and it won't hurt them if/when the business fails. It's too easy for them to walk.

All of that being said, your experience is going to depend on a lot of things:
-How much money you're interested in investing.
-What kind of businesses you're investing in.
-What your experience, background, and area of expertise is.
-What kind of involvement you intend to have.
-What type of returns you expect on your investment.
-What your citizenship/nationality is. (If you're WNA, any company you invest in will need to be listed as a PMA and also not on the negative investment list.)

You should probably sit down with your money and your plans and talk to a reputable consultant -- one with no vested interest in either your investments or the company that you're considering investing in. They should be paid completely outside of the prospective deal and paid by you, the investor, *not* the company. Preferably, you should work with a consultant that has experience dealing with foreign investments and the international market. Indosight is probably a good option, but you'll have to look around.