Abu Dhabi’s Prince Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrives in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/07/19) (Image credit: Andhika Prasetia/detikcom)

Indonesia government to attract new investments from Arabia nation and SoftBank

The president of Indonesia Joko Widodo keeps showing his effort to attract foreign business players to invest in the country. President Joko Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, moves quickly to secure new deals with foreign investors within months after winning the presidential election.

This Wednesday, Abu Dhabi’s Prince Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will have a state visit in Indonesia to discuss the partnership between the countries with President Jokowi.

According to Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, the government has set a target of deals worth $10 billion during the prince’s visit. Several state-owned companies such as PT Pertamina, PT Chandra Asri, and PT Pelabuhan Indonesia will be involved in the deals. The government is also looking for possible cooperation with the Arab nation by purposing projects value $91 billion, said Minister Pandjaitan.

Indonesia is eager to expand its partnership with the Arab nation. On early July, Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan hold a bilateral meeting with the UEA’s Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei to discuss on cooperation in the energy sector and an investment worth of US$5 billion.

Next Month, Presiden Jokowi is scheduled to have a meeting with Masayoshi Son, the founder, and chief executive of SoftBank Group Corp. Son is eager to enlarge his investment in Indonesia, including in the country’s biggest e-commerce Tokopedia, said Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affair Luhut Pandjaitan,

Previously in 2014, SoftBank had invested $100 million in Indonesia's e-commerce unicorn Tokopedia.

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman will also have state-visit to Indonesia in the next few weeks. The meeting between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia is expected to reach a deal on expanding a refinery in Pertamina’s Cilacap.

As the re-elected president for the next five years, Jokowi promises to resolve economic reforms and construct infrastructure in order to captivate foreign investor. The president intends to secure more financial resilience for the current account deficit by attracting more foreign business. The current account deficit causes Indonesia depending on inflows from abroad.

However, Indonesia is still left behind in the Southeast Asia region especially from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

According to the Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Rosan Roeslani, the implementation of regulations and bureaucracy system in the country are the weaknesses to attract FDI. The government has to quicken and complete the bureaucratic reform so Indonesia can compete with neighboring countries, added Rosan Roeslani.

Source: https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/jokowi-softbank-saudi-prince-146350/