Luhut: Indonesia Is Looking To Be A Place For Investment To Replace China

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut B. Pandjaitan attended Indika Energy's 20th Anniversary at the INDY Fest 2020 event virtually via video conference Monday, October 19. In the event, Coordinating Minister Luhut explained the importance of economic transformation in the era of Making Indonesia 4.0 in Indonesia, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are experiencing a very rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. This change is marked by changes in the world due to technology and very fast globalization, then the increasing geopolitical tensions in various countries, especially between the United States (US) and China in the context of a trade war. Not to mention that we are also facing COVID-19 which is increasingly accelerating changes in the world's geopolitical landscape, "said Coordinating Minister Luhut in a written statement, quoted on Tuesday, October 20.

Before the pandemic, according to Luhut, many countries invested in China. But now, some of them are starting to look for other countries to divert their investment.

Indonesia is one of the countries that investors are starting to look at to move their industries. This is where Indonesia is able to take advantage of this situation to build its economy in the context of Making Indonesia 4.0 in Indonesia.

"We need to transform our economic activities in an effort to make Making Indonesia 4.0, so that we can take advantage of this situation by showing that we are competitive and able to compete globally," he said.

According to Coordinating Minister Luhut , one of the sectors that can be utilized and developed is the automotive sector, especially the electric vehicle (EV). Indonesia has abundant resources in making EVs, namely nickel, aluminum and copper.

"These three types of resources can be integrated in order to make the downstream industry competitive in the realm of global competition," said Coordinating Minister Luhut.

Currently, the world's car and battery manufacturers are competing to find investment destinations for their production facilities. Increased production of electric vehicles could result in the creation of 10 million jobs, and an economic value of around US $ 150 billion as they contribute to progress related to the Paris Agreement on climate change, according to the Global Battery Alliance.

"If all or most of the related supply chains can be produced in Indonesia, then Indonesia can become a global key player in this future industry," said Coordinating Minister Luhut .

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

"Parties in the industrial ecosystem that we want to build, such as labor associations, industry associations, NGOs, companies, together with educational institutions need to work well together. This collaboration will be able to realize something we aspire to, in the form of development in the sector automotive was to realize Making Indonesia 4.0 in Indonesia, "he said.