TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government stated that at least 143 foreign companies were planning to relocate their investment to Indonesia. Among them are from the United States (U.S.), Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and China.

“Data released by the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) show that 143 firms are planning to relocate investment to Indonesia. This potentially absorbs more than 300,000 workers,” said Coordinating Minister for Economy Airlangga Hartarto in the HSBC Economic Forum in Jakarta, Wednesday, September 16.

Airlangga opined that the plan was a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which indirectly taught valuable lessons that supply chains of goods could not be centralized in one country.

“Presently, many multinational companies start relocating from China to other Asian countries, especially ASEAN,” said Airlangga. This could be an opportunity for Indonesia to replace China’s position as the top investment destination of the supply chain in the global market.

However, the risk of uncertainty this year remained high, forcing Indonesia to deal with external and internal economic challenges, he added.

Airlangga reiterated that the external pressures included global uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, while the internal ones were those occurring in line with the global economic slowdown, such as the contraction in Indonesia’s economic growth at 5.32 percent.

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