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OPIC to double investment in Indonesia over next five years
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is seeking to strengthen its presence in Indonesia by doubling its investment in Southeast Asia's largest economy over the next five years.
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The 100-hectare Sidrap wind farm in Sindereng Rappang regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia's first wind power project, was inaugurated by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in July last year. The wind power plant was financed by the United States’ Overseas Private Investment Corporation. (Courtesy of /Presidential Palace)
T
he Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is seeking to strengthen its presence in Indonesia by doubling its investment in Southeast Asia's largest economy over the next five years.
The government-backed investment firm was confident about increasing its investment to US$250 million by 2024 from the current figure of $125 million, OPIC chief of staff Eric Jones told reporters in a press briefing on June 24.
“With the largest economy in Southeast Asia, strong economic growth and Jakarta on track to become the world’s largest urban area within a decade, Indonesia stands as an example of how investment in infrastructure and technology drives development,” Jones said in a recent limited media briefing.
OPIC’s expansion plan is in line with its plan to upgrade its status from an agency to a corporation called the US International Development Finance Corporation in October 2019. The plan for the upgrade was given the green light after US President Donald Trump signed the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act last year.
The upgrade, he said, would equip OPIC with an investment cap of $60 billion, an increase from $29 billion, allowing for more elaborate investment partnerships.
“If we are looking at bigger infrastructure projects, we can ‘de-risk’ them because we will be able to put a little bit of investment up front, so we can see where the issues or opportunities are,” Jones said.
OPIC’s transformation will also relax its rule stipulating that it can only invest in projects in which the US owns at least 25 percent. The rule change will allow for investment in projects involving American investors.
