Dutch Firms to Invest $300 Million in Indonesia

The Dutch government will invest $300 million in Indonesia to support various development programs in the country through its investment agency Invest International and as many as 120 companies from the Netherlands will be visiting Indonesia on a trade and investment mission on June 16.

This was disclosed by Anindya Novyan Bakrie, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), who received the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Indonesia, Timor Leste and ASEAN, Marc Gerritsen, at The Convergence Indonesia Epicentrum Area, Kuningan, South Jakarta.

The delegation will focus on three main sectors: food security, maritime affairs, and water management. The mission will not only focus on Jakarta and these 120 companies will be divided, some will go to Medan, Semarang, (and) Makassar, depending on the topic,’ she said.

The Netherlands, according to Anindya, is the largest investor from the EU region in Indonesia, contributing around 46% of total European investment. ‘So, it’s huge. So, it is not (merely) because of good relations, but economically it is very significant,” Anindya said.

In addition to the priority sectors, the meeting also discussed social programmes such as Free Nutritious Meals, the provision of affordable housing, as well as potential cooperation in the provision of migrant labour, including seafarers and health workers.

This investment is not just a discourse, but a concrete step by the Dutch government to engage in long-term projects in Indonesia, Anindya said and added that the Dutch companies were looking for partners not only to trade with, but also for long-term investments.

Strategic Cooperation

In his comments, Marc Gerritsen appreciated the Chamber’s openness and support in this mission and emphasised that cooperation with the agency is very strategic to bridge Indonesia’s development needs with the excellence of the Dutch private sector.

“In this meeting we discussed in depth how the Dutch (government and entrepreneurs) and Kadin can cooperate more closely. Our focus is on horticulture, water and maritime affairs, areas where the Netherlands has expertise and Indonesia has great ambitions,” Gerritsen explained.

The $300 million fund is intended to finance long-term and sustainable business projects in various priority sectors.

“We will do our best from the embassy side to connect partners from both countries, in order to realise Indonesia’s development goals,” he said.

The meeting was also attended by Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bilateral Committee for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg Irwan Habsjah, and Secretary General of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bilateral Committee for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg Latif Gau.