Jakarta. Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani remains upbeat about attracting hundreds of billions of dollars worth of investments throughout this year despite having to cut its spending within the ministry.

President Prabowo Subianto has ordered massive budget cuts within the government to rechannel the money into funding the free meal program. Indonesia has allocated an annual budget of Rp 681.9 billion (around $41.6 million) for the Investment Ministry, which also has to deal with ever-increasing annual targets. According to a Finance Ministry circular, the Investment Ministry has to lower it by Rp 292.6 billion following Prabowo’s instructions. Speaking to reporters at the Presidential Palace, Rosan said that his ministry would continue to adopt “good work ethics” despite having less money to spend.

“With this budget efficiency, we have to be more innovative in doing our job. … There are many ways to convince [the investors],” Rosan said in Jakarta.

Budget cuts would likely mean less business trips. The ministry is mulling approaching potential investors virtually in addition to directly inviting them to the country, according to Rosan. He added: “But all in all, we have to make sure that the public services can go normally. But we have to make adjustments, be it big or small.”

Rosan also told reporters that the final budget trim was still under discussion. 

The government just last week announced that Indonesia had registered Rp 1,714.2 trillion or about $105 billion throughout 2024. About 52.5 percent came from foreign investors. Prabowo aims to record an 8 percent growth within his presidential term. Government estimates that Indonesia needs to set even more aggressive investment targets over the coming years to reach that target. Indonesia aims to attract Rp 1,905.6 trillion from foreign and domestic investors throughout 2025.

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