TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Johnny G. Plate, claimed that two foreign companies had stated their intention to invest in Indonesia once the House of Representatives (DPR) passed the Personal Data Protection Bill.

“Yesterday, I went to Davos (Switzerland) to meet Amazon. They will invest heavily in Indonesia,” the minister said at his office in Central Jakarta, Tuesday, January 28, 2020.

Johnny claimed that the first of the 22 data centers set to be built worldwide by Amazon, the US-based multinational tech company, will be built in Indonesia.

According to the minister, aside from Amazon, Microsoft has begun drafting cooperation plans with Indonesia. Like Amazon, Microsoft will build a data center to support the implementation of personal data protection in Indonesia.

“(Microsoft’s) investment value is not only millions of dollars but hundreds of millions or billions of dollars," Johnny said.

Microsoft's intention to cooperate with Indonesia has previously been conveyed by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. He claimed that Microsoft is interested in investing US$1 billion in Indonesia, or equal to Rp14 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp14,000).

“The US$1 billion investment will be used for database," the coordinating minister said in his office, on January 17, 2020.

According to Luhut, representatives from Microsoft have been in contact with him directly. He hopes the continuation of the agreement with Microsoft to commence as soon as possible.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA | DIO SUHENDA (Intern Translator)