Economic Forum in Davos; BKPM Eyes Investment from 8 Global Firms

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia is scheduled to have a working visit to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on January 20-23. Apart from being a speaker at the Indonesia Pavilion and meeting with WEF Founder Klaus Schwab, Bahlil plans to meet eight leaders of global corporations.

"There are several important agendas such as meeting with some eight global corporations," said Farah Ratnadewi Indriani, the board's Deputy for Investment Promotion in a written statement, Sunday, January 19.

Farah added that Bahlil will conduct a one on one meeting with leaders of Jumeirah Hotel, Amazon, Grab, Traveloka, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Mizuho, Yili Group, and Siemens Group.

Bahlil will have a mission of encouraging corporation or multinational companies to increase its capital or invest in Indonesia, she explained. "As for financial institutions, the government will invite them to join the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)."

According to Farah, Bahlil's visit is necessary to attract investment from European Union countries given it is still dominated by Asian countries, such as Singapore, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

"So we'd like to challenge Europe. We admit that European countries are much more careful [in investing]," Farah added.

BKPM data showed that only two European countries listed in the top 10 investors in Indonesia, namely the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The investment in the 3rd quarter of 2019 amounted to US$2.768 billion, increased from the previous period in 2018 of US$2.321 billion.

CAESAR AKBAR