Driving domestic economy, UOB Indonesia to boost foreign investment and export
JAKARTA – With growth projection of Indonesia’s economy in 2024 at 5.2%, Bank UOB Indonesia as the renowned regional bank, is ready to facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to Indonesia whilst boosting export volume and portion in GDP.
According to Hendra Gunawan, President Director of Bank UOB Indonesia, during his opening speech at UOB Economic Outlook 2025 today (25/9) in Jakarta, exports of natural resources, agricultural products, and manufacturing, reportedly saw positive shifts.
“I think Indonesia has abundant natural resources. I believe we have advantages compared to other countries,” added Harapman Kasan, Director of Wholesale Banking of UOB Indonesia, on the same occasion. “Our vision is to reach [export growth of] 5% [yoy]. As of now, we only reach approximately 3% [yoy].”
Aside from export, UOB Indonesia also eyes an increase in FDI in Indonesia in order to reinforce its position amidst global scope. “Within the last 5 years, we [UOB] has brought in [FDI] of approximately SGD 20 billion. Hopefully, in the next 5 years, it will continue to increase, following the government’s order,” said Kasan.
“The concern now is how to make Indonesia a more attractive country [for investment] compared to other countries,” claimed Kasan on the same occasion.
From the perspective of the government, Ferry Irawan, Deputy of Coordinating Board for Macro Economy and Finance of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs of Indonesia, also highlights the same issue regarding foreign investment.
“We push forward investment climate improvement with various business relaxations, incentives, and other programs related to downstreaming projects and other programs that have become the government’s focus,” added Irawan.
According to Irawan, political situation within the country, which has been relatively more stable since 2024 General Election took place last February, will be able to attract more foreign investors to Indonesia.
“We hope that with the new government term closing in, all prerequisites, information, required by investors can be obtained more clearly. In the context of policies, we have dedicated laws; the future directions, they have become clear now,” claimed Irawan confidently.
In consensus, the government and Bank UOB Indonesia projects Indonesia’s economy to be able to grow by approximately 5.2% in 2024, and increase to 5.3% in 2025. (ZH)
