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B20 forum ‘rebrands’ Indonesia in eyes of business world
We are challenged to work together, says Kadin chairman.
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The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) has hailed the Business 20 (B20) forum for casting a bright light on local businesses.
Concluding the two-day business summit, which is part of the ongoing Group of 20 Summit held in Nusa Dua, Bali, KADIN chairperson Arsjad Rasjid said on Monday that the B20 forum had rebranded the country’s business world in the eyes of foreign investors.
At the G20, which is chaired by Indonesia this year, the B20 represents the group's business community with KADIN in charge of organizing it.
The B20 is one of several engagement groups on the G20 agenda, with others including the Supreme Audit Institutions 20 (SAI20), the Women 20 (W20) and the Urban 20 (U20).
“This is the opportunity for us to promote Indonesia. We say that Indonesia is new: Indonesia Incorporated. This is a place where businesses and the government show that public-private partnerships are in the works,” Arsjad told reporters.
The B20 forum had invited foreign governments and businesses to the country to boost investment and job creation, he said, as high economic growth meant trade and investment in the country were doing well.
Strong trade and investment, in turn, would help firms earn more profit, which was the key for prosperity in the nation.
Read also: Together, stronger
He said that Rp 75 trillion (US$4.8 billion) worth of investment deals signed at the B20 forum were just the initial commitments, hinting that more were to come in the next few days.
Such deals were made not by KADIN itself, he noted, but rather in tandem with the government in the spirit of gotong royong (collaboration) with particular support from the Investment Ministry.
On Friday, KADIN announced that memorandums of understanding (MoUs) had been agreed on by 18 firms from 11 countries.
“This will keep going [with] more and more [deals]; our target is [full-year realized investment] of Rp 1.200 quadrillion," Arsjad continued.
However, Arsjad said investment would flow to the country much more easily if only peace were established between nations, because without peace, cooperation would be hard to achieve.
"Words mean nothing without peace. What are we going to talk about [if there’s no peace]?" Arsjad continued.
B20 chairwoman Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, who is also KADIN’s deputy chairperson for investment, announced that the engagement group had agreed on a communiqué.
While G20 working groups, which represent the governments of leading economies, have failed to produce any communiqué since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February stoked geopolitical tensions, engagement groups have agreed on several communiqués.
“Yes, we do have a communiqué, the policy recommendations to the G20. We hope that this will all be adopted,” Shinta told forum participants.
The continuation of Indonesia’s B20 presidency was imperative, she said, adding that four so-called legacy programs had been introduced for that purpose, namely: B20 Wiki, the Carbon Center for Excellence, One Global Women Empowerment and the Global "One Shot" Campaign.
B20 for the world
In his speech to open the B20 Summit on Sunday, Arsjad said that businesses worldwide faced the challenges of heightened geopolitical tension, inequitable globalization and climate change.
"Today, we are challenged to work together. We must collectively come together to support this fragile economic recovery and ensure peace and prosperity for all going forward," Arsjad told forum participants.
Read also: Global tension hinders recovery, govt, businesses tell world at G20
Arsjad called on business leaders to work toward “new solutions” that produced not just growth per se, but “inclusive growth.”
To that end, he demanded that governments achieve peace and ensure equal access to resources for all individuals.
“If the youth of today are to inherit a brighter tomorrow, there is no question that we must find innovative solutions to accelerate inclusive growth, in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and collaborative across value chains,” Arsjad continued.
B20 trade and investment task force chairperson Arif Patrick Rachmat, who is also the executive director of conglomerate Triputra Group, called for a reform of the World Trade Organization as a means to promote an "open, fair, inclusive and efficient" global trade and investment climate.
Trade restrictions were a barrier for confidence in the global system, he said, and thus their removal was in the interest of the global business community.
"Trust and confidence must be restored in the global trading system [...] primarily in the [WTO] dispute settlement function," Arif said on Sunday.
