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For Prabowo, domestic market 'main leverage' to woo investors
The incoming administration led by president-elect Prabowo Subianto will highlight Indonesia’s large domestic market as a key selling point to attract investors to the world’s fourth-most populous country, says a member of Prabowo’s inner circle.
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President-elect Prabowo Subianto salutes as he delivers a speech in Jakarta, on March 20, 2024, after the General Elections Commission (KPU) certified his victory in the 2024 presidential election. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
T
he incoming administration led by president-elect Prabowo Subianto will highlight Indonesia’s large domestic market to attract foreign investors, says a member of Prabowo’s inner circle.
Aside from Indonesia being the world’s fourth-most-populous country, Drajad Wibowo, an economic expert on Prabowo’s campaign team, sees the abundance raw materials as another selling point, much like incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
“So what we will be selling, I believe, is still the same thing, because [the reality] remains the same. None of the fundamental factors have changed,” Drajad told The Jakarta Post and Kompas daily in an interview on Thursday.
Asked which sector Prabowo would focus on for foreign investment, Drajad said the president-elect would push for developing downstream industries based on 21 locally sourced commodities, including coal, nickel, oil palm products, biofuel and timber.
Drajad said Indonesia had been too focused on just making crude palm oil (CPO) from palm fruit when there were plenty of other derivative products that could be produced.
“A lot of [palm derivatives] can be used for food and beverages. The food and beverage market in Indonesia is huge, and we are still not consuming enough [domestically sourced ingredients],” said Drajad.
Drajad added that the appeal of Indonesia’s domestic market, some 270 million people strong, was attractive enough to get investors on board with the downstream agenda.
