Cikarang. The Indonesian government said Thursday that the Sumatra floods had little to no impact on foreign investors’ interest, citing that the disaster was a “force majeure” or an unforeseeable event that they were responding to swiftly.

Indonesia is now trying to recover from the catastrophic floods and landslides that have devastated the island of Sumatra. As rescue operations continue, the disaster has sparked questions on whether it will dampen Indonesia’s pursuit of foreign direct investment (FDI), as President Prabowo Subianto refuses to budge on his goal to reach 8 percent growth during his term. The Jakarta Globe asked Saribua Siahaan, a director at the Investment Ministry, whether the cyclone-induced floods had eroded foreign investors’ confidence so far.

“In general, investors consider Indonesia to hold great potential as an investment destination. But this [Sumatra flooding] is a force majeure. In our experience, force majeure doesn’t really disrupt the [foreign investors’ interests],” Saribua told a press briefing in Cikarang.

Saribua claimed that he had not seen any data that indicated a decline in foreign investors’ interests. He went on to say how the government had moved quickly with the disaster responses, be it aid distribution or Prabowo’s recent visit to the flood-hit provinces.

“If the government is quick with the disaster recovery, that will convince the investors even more. But I believe everyone has been quick on their feet during Prabowo’s administration. And you can see how Mr. Prabowo had even gone there [the flood-struck regions] in person. That shows how we truly care about what is happening,” Saribua said.

Indonesia has attracted approximately Rp 1.4 quadrillion (around $84 billion) in investments so far in 2025 as of September. Some Rp 644.6 trillion was FDI, which was mainly driven by Singaporean and Chinese investors. Southeast Asia’s largest economy aims to record Rp 1.9 quadrillion in overall investments throughout this year.

Think tank Celios had warned that the disaster could cause Indonesia’s economy to shrink by Rp 68.67 trillion or around $4.1 billion. The estimates had only taken into account the damages as of Nov. 30, meaning that the losses in gross domestic product (GDP) can grow in size. The report also did not include its potential effect on foreign investments. 

Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said Tuesday that the government would “keep an eye” on the situation before deciding whether to revise the national GDP target. Indonesia has set its sights on 5.2 percent year-on-year (yoy) for the entirety of 2025. Just last week, Airlangga was confident that the year-end holiday stimulus package could drive Indonesia to a 5.4 percent and 5.6 percent yoy growth this quarter.

The Indonesian disaster authorities reported that the Sumatra floods and landslides had claimed at least 812 lives, according to data seen on Thursday at 4 p.m. Some 509 people are still missing, and 2,700 others sustain injuries. The floods have either damaged or completely destroyed 10,500 houses. These casualties are spread across Aceh, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra.

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