Indonesia The Highest Potential Digital Economy In ASEAN, Acting Head Of CoFTRAATEs The Low Internet Speed

Acting Head of CoFTRA Didid Noordiatmoko. (Photo: VOI/Mery Handayani)

JAKARTA - The Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (CoFTRA) revealed that Indonesia's digital economy potential is very high compared to countries in the ASEAN region. However, the problem is that internet speed in Indonesia is actually among the lowest.

Acting Head of CoFTRA Didid Noordiatmoko said, based on Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) data, the value of Indonesia's digital economy in 2021 is 70 billion US dollars. This figure is higher than Thailand's GMV which is only 30 billion US dollars.

Then, in third place is Malaysia, which recorded a GMV of 21 billion US dollars. Then, Vietnam amounted to 21 billion US dollars. Lastly the Philippines 17 billion US dollars.

Compared to other ASEAN countries, it seems that the potential is higher than other countries. Once again, this is potential. We can take advantage of the potential but it's a challenge how we take advantage of it," he said at a press conference, Wednesday, January 4.

In fact, Didid continued, Google also projects that Indonesia's digital economy in 2025 will grow to reach 146 billion US dollars. This figure is the largest in Southeast Asia.

There are several factors that influence, for example, the emergence of various retail investment applications will continue to take care of them. With the integration of financing platforms, there are differential codes that are easier and so on," he said.

Based on the 2020-2021 survey, said Didid, of the total population of Indonesia 277 million people, 72.02 percent use the internet. Meanwhile, 89.03 percent of Indonesia's population has accessed the internet using smart posts or gadgets.

Even so, Didid said the problem was internet speed in Indonesia at 34.5 Mbps, including the lowest when compared to other ASEAN countries.

This figure, continued Didid, is lower than the Philippines 103.3 Mbps. Then, Malaysia 134.4 Mbps. Meanwhile, Thailand 254.1 Mbps and Singapore 295.0 Mbps.

Therefore, Didid assessed that the government needs to improve Indonesia's digital ecosystem. This is because the potential of this digital economy can contribute to the development of the Indonesian economy as a whole.