President Joko Widodo at the 2022 National Investment Working Meeting late last month praised North Maluku Province for its success in recording economic growth of 27.74 percent. According to Jokowi, this figure is the highest in the world. In conditions of the national economy which began to revive after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy in North Maluku Province also showed growth. The processing and mining industries are the two sectors that make the biggest contribution to economic growth in this province which has ten regencies/cities. Local Bank Indonesia data states that the economy of North Maluku Province in the second quarter of 2022 continued to grow by 27.74 percent (yoy), although it experienced a deceleration compared to the previous quarter which grew by 28.33 percent (yoy). The large contribution of the manufacturing and mining industry sectors to the economic growth of the province with a population of 1.3 million is proof that currently investment is not only concentrated on Java Island, but also outside Java Island, including in North Maluku.
In addition, it also illustrates that the investment climate in North Maluku is very good, not only in terms of investment security and infrastructure support, but also in terms of ease of investment provided by the local regional government. Data from the North Maluku Provincial Government through the Head of the North Maluku Investment and One-Stop Services (DPMPTSP) Office, Bambang Hermawan stated that of the total Foreign Investment (PMA) of Rp. 37 trillion, this consisted of the first quarter of 2022 of Rp. 12 trillion and the second quarter of Rp. 19 trillion. . The largest investment value in North Maluku is in the manufacturing and mining industry, especially nickel and gold mining which are spread over a number of districts, such as East Halmahera, Central Halmahera and South Halmahera. One of the mining companies investing in this border province is Harita Nickel, a subsidiary of PT Harita Group which has built a saprolite nickel smelting industry since 2016, and since 2021 has also owned limonite nickel processing and refining. Investment in North Maluku is predicted to continue to increase because many domestic and foreign investors have expressed their interest in investing in this province, especially in Pulau Morotai Regency. Morotai Island Regency is of great interest to investors, especially those that will be engaged in the fisheries and tourism business, because the area has been developed into a Special Economic Zone (KEK) and one of the 10 main tourism development areas in Indonesia.
