Jakarta. Indonesia recently tried to woo American investors to take part in their copper processing and halal food industry projects.

Earlier this week, Bank Indonesia recently sent its deputy governor Filianingsih Hendarta to help pitch three projects at a business forum in Washington. 

The central bank nudged American businesses to invest in East Java’s copper processing industry as the mineral-rich country tries to produce high value-added goods out of its commodities. Bank Indonesia also promoted the Aceh Industrial Zone of Ladong. The government envisions Ladong as a hub for halal industry particularly in the food and beverage sector. Last but not least was a geothermal project in Umbul Telomoyo Temple site in Central Java.

“Why invest in Indonesia? Our country boasts robust economic growth with positive prospects,” Filianingsih told the US business forum, as reported by a press statement on Tuesday.

“Indonesia also possesses stable macroeconomic fundamentals. The Indonesian government has strong commitment to making structural reforms to create a conducive investment climate,” Filianingsih said.

Filianingsih said Bank Indonesia had curated the three aforementioned projects together with the New York chamber of the Indonesia Investment Promotion Center. They factored in American investors’ interests when picking the projects.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. Muslims also account 99 percent of the population in the Aceh province. Its provincial government promises investors who are eyeing the Ladong industrial area ease of doing business, according to its official website. They will get to enjoy tax allowance and tax holidays. The Ladong industrial zone is quite close to connectivity infrastructures such as the Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport and the Malahayati Port.

The Bank Indonesia press statement did not go into details on the copper processing industry in East Java. However, the province is home to the Java Integrated Industrial and Ports Estate (JIIPE). In this industrial park lies mining giant Freeport Indonesia’s copper smelter. The facility is expected to process 1.7 million tons of copper concentrates annually and produce up to 650,000 copper cathodes each year. 

Last year, Indonesia and the US agreed to upgrade their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership level. 

Government data showed the US invested about $2 billion in Indonesia throughout the first half of 2024. The US became Indonesia’s fourth-largest foreign investor in that period, surpassing Japan which invested $1.8 billion. The government also revealed that investors --be it from home or abroad-- had shown interest in Indonesia’s domestic processing industry. Throughout the first half, Indonesia recorded Rp 181.4 trillion ($11.7 billion) worth of investments in the domestic industry, about Rp 28 trillion of which were related to copper smelting.

Indonesia not long ago reported that its economy had expanded 5.05 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024.

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