"My forecast is that domestic and foreign investment growth in 2019 will return to double digits," Lembong, or popularly known as Tom, claimed here on Tuesday.
The BKPM head was optimistic that foreign investment would show a positive trend in the face of the trade war waging between the United States and China that had compelled industries to relocate their plants from China to other nations.
Tom pointed out that investors had come to the realization to diversify the location for their plants and not be centered in one particular country.
"There is a trend among investors to diversify the location of the factories. Do not overly focus on one specific region. That would be risky," he emphasized.
He acknowledged that some nations did encounter challenges in maintaining political and macroeconomic stability, and some currencies had experienced a depreciation of as low as 50 percent.
Tom noted that Indonesia's relative macroeconomic and political stability would work in its favor to attract investment.
"There are no significant blunders, high market volatility, and fluctuation. We are in a stable condition and rational amid this global uncertainty and turmoil arising from time to time," Lembong reiterated.
Indonesia has incentivized to attract investment, including through the provision of tax holiday, tax allowance, and super deductible tax.
In 2019, the BKPM has outlined a target to record a total investment of Rp792.3 trillion, to rise from Rp721.3 trillion in 2018.
A positive post-election scenario is forecast to boost investment that had been overshadowed by the investors' wait-and-watch stance prior to the election, Tom stated.
Translator: Sella Panduarsa G, Sri Haryati
Editor: Bambang Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
