Luhut Pandjaitan 'Rayu' US Investor To Invest In Indonesia

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan during a visit to the United States (US). (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan invited US entrepreneurs to invest in Indonesia, to be precise in the Indonesian Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF).

According to Luhut, this cooperation will strengthen the economic relations between the US and Indonesia. Moreover, the US has issued a decision to extend the provision of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facilities to Indonesia.

In addition, United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO Adam Boehler has signed a Letter of Interest (LoI) to invest US $ 2 billion or Rp28 trillion from DFC in the Indonesia Investment Authority or Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund in Washington DC last November. .

"I hope American companies see this as an opportunity," he said at a webinar, Friday, December 11.

One of them, said Luhut, was that US companies could make Indonesia their manufacturing base for export to their own countries. This includes the Asian market and the Indonesian market, which has a population of 273 million.

Luhut said that when he was on a working visit to the United States he met with US President Donald Trump. During the meeting, said Luhut, Donald Trump was interested in SWF.

"I am very pleased that at the end of his term of office, Trump is interested in the concept of the Indonesia Sovereign Wealth Fund. I am sure that the Indonesia Sovereign Wealth Fund can attract investment in the US market to the economy in Indonesia which will later contribute to strengthening economic relations between the United States and Indonesia," he said.

In this regard, Luhut said that the Indonesian government continues to pay attention to global economic developments, including the trade war and also the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Luhut, these two factors also have an impact on markets in developing countries such as Indonesia. Nevertheless, Luhut sees a trend of economic improvement in the near future after contracting 5.32 percent in the second quarter of 2020

"Indonesia hopes to recover better in the future," he explained.