Luhut Pandjaitan: Investors Show Interest in Relocating Investment to Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan said many countries invested in China before the COVID-19 pandemic, but now some of them are starting to look for other states to relocate their investment.

“Indonesia is one of the countries that investors are starting to show interest in to move their industries," said Luhut in a written statement on Monday, October 19, 2020.

Due to this fact, he added, Indonesia must be able to turn it into a good account in order to boost the economy. “We need to transform our economic activities in efforts to achieve Making Indonesia 4.0 road map so we can make use of this situation by showing that we are competitive and able to compete globally,” he said.

It is pivotal to transform the economy in the era of Making Indonesia 4.0, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Luhut argued. “We are facing a rapid change in the geopolitical landscape.”

The changes, he went on, were evident from global changes due to technology and rapid globalization, as well as increasing geopolitical tensions in various countries, particularly the trade war between the United States and China. “Not to mention that we are also facing COVID-19 which accelerates the changes,” Luhut said.

Indonesia could develop the automotive sector, especially the electric vehicle (EV), Luhut claimed. “If all or most of the related supply chains can be produced in Indonesia, then we can become a global key player in this future industry,” he said.

Luhut Pandjaitan also reminded that Making Indonesia 4.0 could run well if the industry was able to collaborate with universities in developing reliable human resources.

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HENDARTYO HANGGI