Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan assured investors in Singapore that they would see bright investment prospects in Indonesia following the economic transformation that is being carried out in the country. In a dialogue with investors at the Singapore Marriott Hotel on Tuesday (22/3), Luhut conveyed the prospect, starting from macroeconomic conditions to downstream programs that provide added value. "Indonesia's macro economy is in very good condition at the moment. For the first time, inflation and the exchange rate are under control because, for the first time, Indonesia's current account balance has experienced a surplus, "Luhut said in a written statement in Jakarta Tuesday.
According to Luhut, this condition is not solely caused by rising commodity prices, but the downstream program carried out by the government provides very high added value. I will show only one piece of data regarding the downstreaming of iron and steel. In five years, the export value was around US $1.3 billion, and last year it was almost US $21 billion, explained the former Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore. Luhut is also optimistic that, with the downstreaming of other minerals, Indonesia's export numbers will continue to increase. He said that in 2021, the export value would reach US $232 billion. The government is also trying to reduce logistics costs in order to encourage national competitiveness. Answering the doubts of several investors regarding the economic data presented, Luhut invited them to see for themselves the progress that has occurred in Indonesia. "You can see what is being done in Morowali for the nickel industry."
You will be amazed because there are at least 50 thousand people working there and it will become the basis for manufacturing batteries for electric cars, "said Luhut. In addition to meeting with investors, Luhut also took the time to see the management of waste that is used as electricity and floating solar panels in Tuas. When inspecting a power plant, Luhut was accompanied by Singapore's Minister of Sustainability and Environment, Grace Fu, when inspecting the waste. While on the floating solar panel project, he met with Senior Minister for Finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Furthermore, Luhut also emphasized the importance of cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore to formulate standardization and measurement procedures that will be used as a benchmark for determining carbon trading from mangroves. Indonesian and Singaporean universities can be asked to do a study, and the material will be used as a guide in policy formulation. Even if we need to, we will also invite universities in Europe, such as Germany. We must have our own reference because we have about 200 types of mangroves whose ability to capture carbon is certainly different. This, of course, will also make a difference in the calculation of carbon trading, "concluded Luhut.
