Reuters - Growth in foreign direct investment in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, slowed sharply in the first quarter of the year, led by spending in mining, food and transportation.

The investment board (BKPM) said on Thursday that foreign investment commitments for the January-March period totaled 72 trillion rupiah, equivalent to $6.9 billion and up 9.8 percent from a year ago.

The slowdown in growth comes in the wake of a government ban in January of mineral ore exports which raised concerns among investors over increasingly nationalistic policies.

FDI rose 25.4 percent in the October-December period to 71.2 trillion rupiah.

The government has targetted foreign investment of $32.8 billion this year up from just over $23 billion) in 2013.

The FDI data, which shows what companies plan to invest rather than actual spending, excludes investment in the oil and banking sectors.