President Jokowi said the Indonesian government welcomed investors from China with open arms. He hopes that there will be more investors from the bamboo curtain country, who will invest in various strategic projects in Indonesia.
“I know that a lot of people have entered (investment in Indonesia) here. Maybe (you) can convey to other colleagues, are there any difficulties or problems? “We are open to investors from China,” said Jokowi.
On this occasion, Jokowi also offered a number of large projects that were being worked on by the government related to the development of the Indonesian Capital City (IKN).
He explained that the government is building a core government area which is targeted for completion next year. The private sector, he said, could start investing capital this year in various sectors.
“This year, the private sector can start to enter into health, education, research, data center, it can start to be implemented this year because there are 34 thousand hectares whose land is ready and can be entered by investors. “There is also property and infrastructure,” he explained.
Jokowi also offered investors to participate in investing in efforts to build an electric vehicle ecosystem, from upstream to downstream. Jokowi estimates that if everything goes smoothly, Indonesia can produce more than one million electric cars by 2035.
The field of new renewable energy (EBT) was also offered by Jokowi to investors. He emphasized that with a potential of 434 thousand mega watts, EBT is a very promising sector in the future.
“I think this is a very good opportunity for the future. “If the energy is green, then the products will be green, selling the products can be at a premium,” he said.
Meanwhile, on a separate occasion, the Minister of Investment and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that President Jokowi’s visit this time resulted in investment commitments with a total value of $11.5 billion.
The investment agreement was obtained by the Indonesian government with a glass manufacturer called Xinyi. Bahlil explained that the company is the largest glass company in the world market shareit reached 26 percent.
“In the future, this company has committed to building industry in the Batam, Rempang area. It is the second largest factory in the world after China, and the number one largest factory outside China. This is a downstream construction built from quartz sand and several other raw materials in Indonesia. “If we have succeeded in building a downstream ecosystem from nickel, now we will start pushing it to quartz sand,” said Bahlil.
In the future, said Bahlil, the glass products produced will be exported because the company’s market share is intended for export. Apart from that, this glass manufacturer, according to Bahlil, will produce solar panels which will also be exported.
“The total investment is $11.5 billion, and they have actually made their first investment in the JIIPE (Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate) area amounting to $700 million. This is the second development. This happened as a result of investors’ full trust in Indonesia under Pak Jokowi’s government. “This investment creates 35 thousand jobs, and this will collaborate with national entrepreneurs,” explained Bahlil.
Investment Slowdown in Political Years
According to CORE Indonesia economist Muhammad Faisal, the atmosphere leading up to the election, commonly known as a political year, can influence the rate of investment in the country.
He himself saw a slowdown in investment entering Indonesia during the political year, including from China.
“I see a trend like that. “For example, gross fixed capital investment (PMTB) grew by two percent, even though in the years before the pandemic it could increase by up to five percent,” said Faisal.
Even so, he said, this investment slowdown would not occur in all sectors. “From my observations, the President’s visit to China is actually to confirm, invite more people, because we are still developing several policies that have been initiated by the government and still need a lot of investment. “For example, IKN development, which we know requires very minimal private investment,” he said.
He saw that in the era of Jokowi’s leadership, the closeness between Indonesia and China in the political and business fields had greatly improved. Chinese investment is now the second largest in Indonesia.
This onslaught of investment from China is not without reason. This bamboo curtain country, said Faisal, is experiencing a transition in economic structure which has resulted in many investors investing more of their capital abroad.
“In the end, many investors invested their capital outside China, for example in Africa, Southeast Asia, including Indonesia,” he explained. (gi/ab)
