The CEO of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, is unsure about investing in Indonesia's new capital. However, that does not mean that they will cancel it. (Image via Money Inc)

SoftBank unsure about investment in Indonesia's new capital

Japanese multinational conglomerate holding, SoftBank Group Corp., stated that it is still reviewing the investment spent on Indonesia’s new capital. The Japan-based holding is still monitoring the regulations and designs for the new capital in East Kalimantan.

Speaking at the State Palace complex on Friday, the CEO of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, said that SoftBank needs to see a bigger picture of how the new capital will be like, the risks, designs, and the basic regulations. Then, SoftBank can determine the amount of investment to be spent.

Son assured that the discussion between SoftBank and the Indonesian government is going smoothly.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, revealed that the government offered six clusters for the prospective investors looking forward to investing in the new capital of Indonesia. Among the six clusters were healthcare, education, research, and finance.

While the discussion on the new capital investment almost reached its final stage, Luhut did not mention any details about SoftBank’s investment.

Since mid-2019, the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), already laid out the blueprints to move the capital from Java Island to Kalimantan Island, precisely in East Kalimantan. Jokowi chose Samboja Regency, North Penajam Paser and Sepaku Semoi Regencies, and Kutai Kartanegara Regency. About Rp466 trillion would be spent to materialize the plan.

However, from the total, the government could only fund 19 percent of it. Jokowi sincerely hopes that the lack of funding will be covered by private and state-owned investments.

Source: https://bit.ly/2TnrQIo