TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Japan's SoftBank Group has told President Joko Widodo or Jokowi that they plan to invest in Indonesia's new capital city. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son met Widodo at the State Palace in Jakarta today, January 10.

During the meeting, Widodo and Son discussed SoftBank's plan to invest in the development of the new capital in East Kalimantan.

"With the projects prepared by the Indonesian government, we believe there are interesting opportunities that we can discuss," Son told Jokowi.

The president said that the new capital city will cover an area much greater than Jakarta's 66,000 hectares with more than 10 million population. "The new capital city is 256,000 hectares in size," Jokowi said.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan had said that SoftBank planned to provide fresh funds up to US$100 billion to help construct the new capital city.

"(Masayoshi Son) keeps pressing me, saying he wants to invest up to US$100 million. To me this is too good to be true," Luhut had said on January 7.

According to the minister, US$100 million is too great a value for investment. Normally, US$25 billion is enough, considering the capital relocation process has started.

AHMAD FAIZ