Jakarta. Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto recently met with Shin Gyoon Hyun, the chief executive officer of LG CNS, a subsidiary of the South Korean tech giant LG Corporation in Seoul.

According to a press release, the meeting with the LG CNS boss zeroed in on the rising South Korean investments in Indonesia. Data shows that Indonesia recorded $2.5 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) from South Korea throughout 2023. This marked a $200 million or 8.7 percent increase compared to 2022 figures. 

Airlangga also welcomed LG CNS’s cooperation with Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas Group to establish a joint venture for data center consulting, which is expected to be ready by the second semester of 2024.

“We hope that South Korea can increase their investments across many sectors, including this technological development. And this should include the development of [the sector’s] human capital by providing training assistance on technology,” Airlangga was quoted as saying in the press statement.

The joint venture will target ICT services in smart city development, including consultation services for cloud computing-based data migration.

Airlangga also welcomed LG CNS’s commitment to supporting smart city development in Indonesia.

The company has been taking part in designing the smart city concept for Indonesia’s future capital Nusantara since December 2022. This project aims to integrate artificial intelligence (AI), data, and cloud technologies to provide smart services in Nusantara. In the future, LG CNS is expected to increase its investments and help spur the Indonesian economy by establishing a leading technology platform, according to Airlangga. 

The Indonesian economy grew by 5.05 percent year-on-year (yoy) in 2023. Indonesia also booked a 5.11 percent yoy growth in the first quarter of 2024. The government reported that Indonesia-South Korea bilateral trade amounted to $20.8 billion in 2023.