West Java Becomes The Highest Investment Destination In Indonesia 2020, Ridwan Kamil: I Am A 'Pen Sales'

West Java Governor, Ridwan Kamil. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - West Java is the province with the highest investment contributor in Indonesia. The total investment that came in was IDR 120.4 trillion in 2020. This figure is equivalent to 14.6 percent nationally.

The success of West Java in becoming the first province to be an investment destination cannot be separated from the efforts of West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil who was able to promote his region to potential investors.

Ridwan Kamil said there are two main reasons why investors invest in the region. First, the infrastructure in the West Java region is considered better than other regions.

"I conducted several surveys with investors, the results were for many reasons, the two main reasons why they are happy (investing) in West Java are one because they have infrastructure that is considered better than other regions", he said, during the 'Accelerated Economic Recovery' webinar, Tuesday, January 26.

Including, said Ridwan, the presence of Patimban Port. In fact, he said ambassadors from various countries had contacted him to propose cooperation in the development of 13 industrial cities in the Patimban area.

"It went viral all over the world. I (got) a lot of questions from the ambassador because I wanted to work together. Because Patimban is in metropolitan Rebana, a new area where there will be 13 new industrial cities that we will conceptualize. Where is the concept of an industrial city? It has to live, work and play. So it's not just a collection of factories. But it becomes the center of human civilization", he said.

Currently, said Ridwan, West Java has three metropolitan cities. First, Bodebek joined by Jabodetabek. Both are Bandung Raya, and the three are Rebana with 13 new industrial cities.

The second reason from investors besides infrastructure, said Ridwan, is the level of productivity of workers or the people of West Java. Based on the survey he conducted, the West Java population is considered the most productive in Indonesia.

Furthermore, Ridwan said, investors admit that the issue of wages is not always the number one issue but also productivity. In fact, he said, there were investors who had moved from West Java but returned because productivity in other areas was not as good as that of West Java.

"We maintain these two things for maximum investment and we hope that additional infrastructure for several toll roads, including the fast train, hopefully, it will be completed in two years," he said.

Promote West Java such as sales pens

Ridwan Kamil gave tips on how West Java could become the highest province in terms of investment. Emil, his nickname, admits that he is like a salesperson to persuade investors.

"I was doing what the Minister of BKPM told me to do, 'Mr. Gub, you are really selling excitedly' so I practiced promoting West Java, I was just like selling pens. facilitation", he said.

As a result, Kang Emil is grateful that West Java has managed to maintain its position as the province with the highest total investment. In addition, West Java has also succeeded in becoming the number one export player in Indonesia, namely 16 percent of national exports.