Indonesia Can Become SE Asia`s Largest Digital Economy: Jokowi

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) believes that Indonesia will become the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia because of its strong foundation and availability of capital.

"We must not let go of the huge market potential. I believe the market potential can make Indonesia the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia," he told a limited meeting at the Presidential Office here on Tuesday, called to discuss ways to enhance Indonesia's image in the eyes of the global community.

He called for making immediate efforts to realize the potential that Indonesia has. Otherwise, it will lag behind neighboring countries.

As the first step to achieve the goal, Indonesia must build a world-class logistic platform, capitalizing on products that rural areas have to offer, he stressed.

"At the same time, we must also make breakthroughs to strengthen our digital economic players. As I observe, our younger generations have the potential to engage with this world on strong terms," he observed.

The president further asked business players to accord priority to startup businesses and ensure that they have access to capital.

"Let us carry out massive deregulation in the field of e-commerce. We must not forget training human resources to develop this capacity. This is important for e-commerce startups to compete in the business world," he added.

He noted that almost all countries have begun to think of digital economy.

"We must not lag behind them. We must play a role in this transition. As I see, we have a huge potential to develop as a digital economy. We have a population of 250 million, with 93.4 million of them being internet users," he explained.

He reminded that e-commerce sales in Indonesia reached US$2.6 billion in 2014.

In fact, e-commerce can help 56 million micro, small and medium business undertakings in Indonesia to contribute 55 percent of the national gross domestic product.

ANTARA