Source: Jakarta Post, December 16 2019

Private equity fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is interested in investing in three projects in Indonesia, a high-ranking official has said.

The GIP’s total investments could reach around US$3 billion, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said as reported by Antara news agency on Thursday.

“The President has given his go-ahead instruction because he and Kim are good friends,” Luhut said Friday, referring to former World Bank president Jim Yong-kim, who is now leading the GIP.

Kim met with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in Jakarta on the day to convey his institution’s interest in investing in Indonesia.

The government has gone all-out to court more investment, opening its doors to investment commitments from various sources, including the United Arab Emirates and the United States’ International Development Finance Corporation.

“The GIP sees that Indonesia has the desire to construct toll roads, seaports, airports [and] power plants that are feasible businesswise,” Jokowi told the press at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Friday.

“[The assistance] is not in the form of loans but investments to jointly invest [with the government] in the sectors,” he added.

Jokowi said the GIP expressed an interest in investing in electricity transmission, airports and hydropower.

“I told them to directly speak to the related ministers but I am open to [investment] as we really need investments,” he stressed.

Separately, Kim said Indonesia would be among the first countries the funds would go toward under his leadership.

“I am extremely optimistic about this country, I’m extremely optimistic about this government and we are in early stages of looking at the investment,” Kim said on Friday.

The optimistic view, he said, was based on the good faith of government officials, including Luhut and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati – both of whom had played key roles in organizing last year’s Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group in Nusa Dua, Bali. (mrc)