Trade & Investment

As South-east Asia’s largest economy and the world’s fourth-most-populated country, Indonesia is an important trade partner within ASEAN, as well as for Japan, China and the US. The country has averaged more than 5% annual GDP growth over the past decade through sound macroeconomic policies, rising domestic demand driven by a burgeoning middle class and high commodity prices. However, a gradual slowdown brought on by a collapse in commodity prices in 2011 and 2012 has weighed on the economy, highlighting the country’s commodity export dependency and pushing trade and investment to the top of the growth agenda.

This chapter contains interviews with Thomas Lembong, Chairman, Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board; Lim Hng Kiang, Singapore Minister of Industry and Trade; and Hugo Swire, UK Member of Parliament.