Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Amid the uncertain global economic situation, Indonesia’s investment was valued at some 23.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the manufacturing sector in the period of January-September 2022.

“The realization rose by 54 percent from about 15.2 billion dollars in the same period last year,” Indonesia’s Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said as quoted from the official website of the Indonesian Ministry of Industry on Wednesday.

Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Investment, the manufacturing sector contributed 40.9 percent to the total Indonesia’s investment that amounted to some 57.3 billion dollars during the period.

Cumulatively, the investment in Indonesia grew by 35.3 percent (year-on-year), reaching 74.4 percent of the 2022 target of about 77.1 billion dollars as of the end of the third quarter.

The realization of the domestic investment in the manufacturing sector was some 6.7 billion dollars with the food industry becoming the largest contributor, contributing some 2.4 billion dollars or 9.2 percent of the total domestic investments some 26.5 billion dollars.

As for the foreign investment, the realization in the manufacturing sector reached about 16.7 billion dollars.

The largest contributor was the industry of basic metals, metal products, and non-machinery and non-machinery equipment, contributing almost 8.5 billion dollars or 25.3 percent of the total foreign investments at some 30.8 billion dollars).

According to Agus, every country is competing to make investment amid the global food, energy, and financial crises as investment can boost the increase in added values, job creation, and foreign exchange.

“We need to maintain investor confidence in this industry sector by giving supports through various strategic policies,” he said, adding that the government also continues to promote the downstreaming of industry that significantly contributes to the state revenues through export tax, royalty, non-tax state revenue, and dividend.

“As the president has stated many times, the downstreaming of industry is our top priority. For example, when nickel was exported as a raw material, the contribution of nickel was some 964.2 million dollars in a year. After it was industrialized, the value skyrocketed to 20.9 billion dollars or equivalent to 360 trillion rupiahs,” he said.

Agus also expressed optimism that the spike in investment in the manufacturing sector correlates with the government’s policies on promoting the downstreaming of industry, especially that of the mining sector.

“The government remains consistent that the realization of investment is not only supported by the service sector but also by the established downstream industry that expands our manufacturing structure, allowing us to improve our competitiveness,” he remarked.

Reporting by Indonesia Window