Trade & Investment

Indonesia entered 2020 trying to navigate global economic headwinds, including the pressure of uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic; however, the second-term election victory of President Joko Widodo, better known as President Jokowi, in 2019 and his coalition’s control of the national legislature has put the government in a solid position to enact much-needed reforms. With the country long dependent on natural resources, the administration seeks to streamline investment processes to attract foreign direct investment in downstream processing, thereby raising the value of exports and providing a domestic alternative to imports. Meanwhile, Indonesia is also pursuing – and in some cases has already secured – a raft of bilateral and multi-stakeholder trade agreements. This chapter contains interviews with Luhut Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment; Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore; and Bahlil Lahadalia, Chairman, Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board.