Jakarta. Palm oil-related investments in Indonesia hit the billion-dollar mark in the first quarter of 2026 as the country wants to move away from exporting raw materials.

Indonesia is in pursuit of turning its abundant palm oil into sophisticated goods to boost economic growth and spur jobs. This is the miracle ingredient found in almost everything from shampoo to supermarket meals. Over the past years, Indonesia has opened its doors for investors -- be it from home and abroad -- who wish to help the country process its crude palm oil (CPO).

Q1 investments meant to help Indonesia climb up the palm oil chain totaled Rp 18.3 trillion (around $1 billion), according to official government data, without disclosing who the investors were.

“We have also recorded some investments in the biofuel sector,” Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani told a press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday.

The ministry’s report did not specify how much investment the biofuel sector had amassed in Q1 2026, putting the renewable fuel in the “others” group. This sub-category -- which includes nutmeg, pine, coconut, cacao, and biofuel -- registered Rp 2.1 trillion ($121.7 million) in investments.

The palm oil sector was the most popular forestry commodity for downstream investments. Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil supplier. 

Beyond palm oil, the overall investments in Indonesia’s downstream sector total Rp 147.5 trillion (almost $8.6 billion). The top foreign sources were Singapore (Rp 35.9 trillion/$2 billion), Hong Kong (Rp 22.9 trillion/$1.3 billion), and mainland China (Rp 17.6 trillion/$1 billion). Most investors put their money on nickel industrial processing of Rp 41.5 trillion ($2.4 billion).

Indonesia wants to have investments to drive at least 30% of its gross domestic product.

“We expect investments to be an economic driver in Q2 to Q4,” chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said.

Southeast Asia's biggest economy aims to expand by at least 5.4% this year. However, international organizations are skeptical that Jakarta can achieve that goal. The World Bank downgraded Indonesia’s economic growth estimate for 2026 from 4.8% to 4.7%. The outlook by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) stands at 5.2%.

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