In March
2015, Indonesian president Joko
Widodo paid a state visit to China
and attended the Boao
Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference, signing the Joint Statement on
strengthen comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
Indonesian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said the two-nation
communication "will highlight that Indonesia is an important
partner for those countries and is ready to open its markets, and to cooperate
economically".
Later in
April 2015, Indonesia’s Investment
Coordinating Board (BKPM) released that China had broken into the top ten
list of Indonesia’s biggest foreign investors during the first quarter for the
first time. Followed by a recent interview at the very beginning this year,
BKPM Director Azhar Lubis commented that China is likely to be biggest investor
to Indonesia as
Chinese investors often invest in other countries through proxy companies or
subsidiaries that are based in other countries such as Singapore or Hong Kong which is
unable to monitor investment.
According
to Financial Times,
Jakarta estimates $450bn of
investment is required to fund its infrastructure plans for the five years to
2019, which includes six new refineries, 35,000 MW of electricity capacity, and
15 airports. While
Indonesia continues to produce more demand and projects as part of their
strategy for infrastructure improvement, this is an opportunity for Chinese
companies to comprehensively test their technological and managerial
capabilities in another market.
Rani Jarkas, Chairman
of
Cedrus Investments,
an investment pioneer with years of financial experience in Asia, said “Despite
its slow economic growth during past years, Indonesian still remains a
promising investment destination for Chinese investors in Southeast Asia. I
expect that Indonesia will attract more direct investment from China as the
bilateral relations continue to strengthen in the future.”
