Jakarta. Chief Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan recently said that a Chinese textile giant would build a factory in Indonesia. His announcement came amid mass layoffs within the sector.

Luhut did not say the name of the Chinese company. The mysterious investor would also set up dormitories that can accommodate its workers. The factory would likely lie close to West Java’s sub-district of Kertajati, according to Luhut.

“I spoke with a [Chinese] textile company. They will likely invest [or build the factory] near Kertajati,” Luhut said on Tuesday. 

He added: “It will be a really huge manufacturing plant. They will hire 30,000 workers and even set up housing for the employees. It is a high-end garment industry model.”

Luhut said he had spoken with Spatial Planning Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono regarding the Chinese company’s land permit. 

“Once the permit is out, they [the investor] can immediately break ground on [the factory],” Luhut said. 

The Indonesian textile industry is currently suffering waves of job cuts. According to the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPN), nearly 50,000 textile industry workers have been laid off so far this year as of early June. The companies did not want their names to be exposed for fear of worrying banks and buyers. Think-tank Celios blamed the industry layoffs on the influx of Chinese imported textiles which were cheaper than their local counterparts.

Chinese investors had made an accumulated investment of $1.87 billion in Indonesia throughout the first quarter of 2024. China was also the third-largest foreign investor for Indonesia during the said period, the Investment Ministry data shows. 

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