Attracting Investment Interest In Indonesia, Coordinating Minister For The Economy Airlangga Meets CEO From Silicon Valley

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Arilangga Hartarto (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto representing President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of a series of events at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco held a meeting with CEOs of large companies in Silicon Valley at The CEO of the Silicon Valley Luncheon held at Standford University Campus, Palo Alto.

Airlangga said they were company leaders with market-capitalization of US$7.3 trillion or equivalent to around 6 times Indonesia's GDP which amounted to US$1.3 trillion or second place compared to G20 countries' GDP.

For the record, the largest GB member of the G20 is the United States, which amounted to 25.46 trillion US dollars and followed by China at 17.96 trillion US dollars.

Airlangga also conveyed a global economic update where the prospect of global economic growth was revised to 3 percent by 2023 and 2.9 percent by 2024.

"High inflation and tightening liquidity will still put pressure on global financial conditions. Slowing down China's growth and increasing geopolitical tensions will slow world trade performance. This condition needs to be watched out for and anticipated by the entire business world," he explained in his official statement Sunday, November 19.

Airlangga said that in the midst of the global uncertainty and slowdown situation, Indonesia's economic fundamentals are still good with strong economic growth compared to other countries.

Meanwhile, Indonesia was able to maintain growth of around 5 percent for seven consecutive quarters and most recently in the third quarter of 2023 it still grew 4.94 percent.

According to Airlangga, this growth rate is accompanied by a controlled inflation rate of 2.56 percent (YoY) in October 2023 and improving social indicators.

On the other hand, the latest Outlook Economic report from the IMF estimates that the Indonesian economy will grow by 5 percent in 2023 and 2024.

Airlangga emphasized that regarding the future, it means discussing two main things, namely digitization and decarbonization.

"We realize that currently the industrial revolution 4.0 has disrupted a lot of economic activity. There is Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotization, ChatGPT that can disrupt human work," he said.

The G20 leaders in the Leaders Declaration of New Delhi, India, 9-10 September 2023, also paid special attention to AI to be used responsibly.

In addition, President Joko Widodo has also said that there is no need to be afraid of AI, because even though there are no regulations yet, AI continues to grow. On the other hand, it is necessary to anticipate by preparing competence to become an AI Engineer and Expert as much as possible

In addition, the world is also facing a climate change crisis, where every country must take a shared responsibility in reducing carbon emissions.

"Currently, I am at the center of the world's digital economy, with the leaders of the world's largest technology companies. This region is also a leader in a decarbonization effort, where Stanford University shows its leadership through the Doerr School of Sustainability," said Airlangga.

Airlangga also emphasized that we need to continue collaborating to turn Indonesia into a Digital Global Hub in Asia, and we want to do it in a low-carbon way.

"The digital economy in Southeast Asia is led by Indonesia, which is growing significantly. Indonesia and ASEAN are very potential markets in the development of the digital economy," he said.

As is known, the total population of ASEAN reaches more than 640 million people and Internet users have touched 480 million people. In 2023, the value of the ASEAN digital economy is projected to reach the Gross Mercangan Goods Value of 218 billion US dollars, and Indonesia is the largest contributor in ASEAN which will reach around 130 billion US dollars by 2025.

As Chair of ASEAN 2023, Indonesia has also been able to strengthen ASEAN's economic foundation through several economic priority programs, one of which is the acceleration of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) negotiations as a strategy to accelerate the transformation of the digital economy in the region.

The growth in the value of the ASEAN digital economy is predicted to continue to increase to reach 2 trillion US dollars by 2030 with the implementation of DEFA.

"We also believe that Indonesia can become a leader in the provision of environmentally friendly energy in the region," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

Airlangga said Indonesia is not only rich in important minerals such as nickel, copper, bauxite, and silica sand, all of which are needed for battery materials.

Indonesia also has significant net energy potential in terms of hydro, geothermal, and solar power plants, with an estimated potential of 3,600 GW.

Thus, Indonesia will be able to become a place for developing digital technology such as an environmentally friendly Data Center.

In closing it, Airlangga also said that currently Indonesia is also in the process of accessing to join the OECD, as an effort to accelerate the transformation towards developed countries.

Let's work together, the Government cannot achieve this alone. We need the support and collaboration of all parties to face various challenges in the future. I hope this forum can be a catalyst for world economic growth, and be a trigger that encourages you to develop your business and drive the Indonesian economy. " the lid