"On Monday, November 25, President Joko Widodo had a lunch meeting with 10 CEOs of giant Korean corporations that have been operating in Indonesia for quite some time," he said in Busan, South Korea, Tuesday.
The 10 corporations are Lotte Corporation, Posco, Hankook Technology Group, SK E&C, CJ Group, LG Chem, GS Global, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Doosan Corporation, and the Korea Exim Bank (Kexim).
The BKPM Chief said that the companies have previously been operating in Indonesia, but they are looking to increase their investments in the country.
"Our visit this time around surely looked at how we can boost the existing investment in Indonesia. We also talked about the potential to manage natural resources, especially nickel, to be used as a material for batteries," he said.
He further said that the investments that were previously mentioned would come from Hyundai for approximately $1.5 to 1.6 billion, divided into two parts.
"Posco will also up their investment, working together with PT Krakatau Steel, for around $2.9 to 3 billion. Lotte will also realize its investment from $3.5 to 4.2 billion. These have all been confirmed for realization in 2020," he said.
He is optimistic that the investment climate in Indonesia will continue to improve.
"I am optimistic about the future (of the investment climate), if we speed up the ease of doing business, then we can work together to create a good investment climate," he continued.
Aside from the BKPM Chief, during the meeting with the CEOs, President Joko Widodo was also accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto; Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan; Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi; Minister of Trade, Agus Suparmanto; Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita; Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono; Minister of State Secretary, Pratikno; and Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir.
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Translator: Joko Susilo/Aria Cindyara
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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