Strengthen Indonesia-China Investment and Technology Synergy, HKU Holds Economic Forum in Jakarta

JAKARTA - The University of Hong Kong (HKU) held the "HKU Indonesia Economic Forum", a forum aimed at strengthening the synergy of Indonesian-Chinese investment and technology at the Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta, Wednesday (13/5).

The forum entitled "Co-Creating a New Landscape for China-Indonesia Enterprise Development" brought together academics, government officials, and business leaders to discuss strengthening economic, investment, and technology cooperation between Indonesia, China, and Hong Kong in the midst of global dynamics.

The event highlights Hong Kong's strategic role as a "bridge" for the Chinese and global markets, as well as major opportunities in the digital economy, green industries, and regional infrastructure development.

The HKU Indonesia Economic Forum was opened with a series of keynote speeches from various key stakeholders, such as Associate Vice President (Global) HKU Prof. Heiwai Tang, Special Staff to the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Dr. Achmad Adhityayang explaining the direction of economic cooperation and investment opportunities from the perspective of the Indonesian government.

There is also the President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia as well as the President of the Bank of China Branch in Jakarta, Shangbin Sun, who represents the Chinese side in discussing bilateral collaboration.

Meanwhile, Senior Economist of the World Bank Mehwish Ashraf gave a macroeconomic overview.

From within the country, APINDO Chairman Shinta Kamdani provided a business perspective on Indonesia's business challenges and opportunities in the international arena.

Met on the sidelines of the forum, Prof. Heiwai Tang told VOI.id, the global supply chain restructuring due to the trade war and the pandemic has given rise to the "China Plus One" strategy.

In this context, Indonesia as the largest economy in ASEAN has a wide room for collaboration with Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong is the most international city in China, located right between mainland China and Southeast Asia. I see a lot of capital, people, and technology flows between China and Southeast Asia through Hong Kong," said Prof. Tang.

He added that the delegation he brought this time consisted of more than 20 top Chinese business leaders who wanted to understand directly the industrial policies and investment opportunities in Indonesia.

"They have gained more confidence in the Indonesian economy and learned about priority sectors supported by the government. This is a good start, and many of them will likely return to explore more in-depth opportunities," explained Prof. Tang.

Meanwhile, two forum participants who are also alumni of the HKU EMBA program shared optimistic views on the business climate in the country.

Chairman of Ningbo Osda Solar Co., Ltd., Zhang Hongyan expressed his admiration for the speed of energy transformation in Indonesia. As a leader of a smart energy solution company, he sees great potential in Indonesia's young population and natural resource wealth.

"Indonesia stands out because of its strong domestic market and policies that support foreign investment. My biggest insight is Indonesia's decisive step in green energy transformation. This encourages us to pay more attention to cooperation in the renewable energy industry chain," said Zhang.

In line with Zhang, Chairman of Yotai Digital Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Jack Sheng sees Indonesia not only as a market, but as a strategic platform for the Asia-Pacific region.

"Indonesia has practical needs in electric transportation (EV), energy storage systems, and charging infrastructure. We want to bring Chinese technology and expertise to contribute to the green energy transition here," explained Jack.

He also highlighted the importance of an integrated ecosystem, from solar panels to battery swapping networks for electric motorcycles, which have a very large population in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the panel discussion in this forum was attended by a number of speakers, including HKETO Jakarta Director Libera Cheng, John Wu from Huawei Indonesia, Ricky Albert from Indosat, as well as representatives from Chinese SOEs such as CREC Indonesia, Qingshan Group and CNCEC.

The forum was closed with a dinner of friendship between Indonesia and China, as well as celebrating the graduation of participants in the HKU-ICC Cohort III program, marking the increasingly close people-to-people and academic relations in addition to the growing economic cooperation.