Jakarta
Sixteen companies have relocated to Indonesia from mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the United States despite the overall global downturn in investment due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, an official has said. Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia said Thursday that the companies had either started construction or production last year. The investment was estimated to reach US$7.15 billion and create around 68,600 jobs. “Back in 2018 and 2019, when the trade war between China and the US broke out, not a single company was relocating [to Indonesia],” Bahlil said in a virtual discussion held by media outlet Kompas. “In 2020, regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic, we managed to get at least 16 companies." In 2019, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he was upset because none of the 33 companies relocating from C...