The pandemic has also made people spend a lot of money or increased consumption on these digital platformsJakarta (ANTARA) - HSBC's Chief Investment Officer for Southeast Asia James Cheo has projected Indonesia's digital economy to grow by three to five folds in the next five years, with a value of US$350 billion.
"Of course, all tech start-ups will benefit from this trend, as Indonesia has a large population, with per capita income that continues to grow, and a good democracy," Cheo noted during an online media briefing on Tuesday.
Growth of the digital economy is also driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. To tackle the pandemic, the government had limited physical gatherings of the public owing to which several activities were conducted virtually.
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"The pandemic has also made people spend a lot of money or increased consumption on these digital platforms," Cheo stated.
Apart from the digital economy, the economy is expected to grow 5.1 percent year-on-year in 2022, while other economic sectors will also receive benefits.
"It cannot be ignored that the Indonesian economy is related to consumers, such as infrastructure investment. Moreover, COVID-19 can be handled," he remarked.
Hence, Cheo believes that if investors are looking to invest in Indonesia, then they can also consider other sectors apart from the technology sector.
However, Indonesia's growth, which is in line with the growth of technology companies, is expected to accelerate the creation of a digital ecosystem.
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"There is a belief that the Indonesian economy will experience an uptrend, and we hope that with the growth of technology companies and with changes in the way people work, we can create a new economic ecosystem with a digital economy," he noted.
Indonesia's digital transformation focuses on 10 priority sectors to expedite the realization of digital infrastructure, government, economy, and society, Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate had earlier stated.
"The 10 sectors are digital transportation and tourism, digital trade, digital financial services, digital media and entertainment, digital agriculture and fisheries, digital real estate and urban, digital education, digital health, industrial digitization, and government digitization," he remarked.
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The government had compiled a Digital Indonesia Roadmap for 2021-2024 as a strategic guide to drive the nation's digital transformation process, he stated during an online discussion on "Safe Transactions in the Digital Era" and as quoted from a press statement here on Thursday.
The guide contains 100 key initiatives to be implemented in collaboration with all ministries, central and regional institutions, business actors, and the general public in Indonesia in the 10 priority sectors.
The coronavirus disease pandemic and the 4.0 industrial revolution are among the catalytic factors that expedite the digital transformation agenda.
"This momentum can also encourage economic transformation in three main focus areas, specifically economic downstreaming, especially in the digital sector, digitizing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the green economy," according to Plate.
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Translator: Sanya D, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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