Credible Economic Narrative Key to Maintaining Investor Trust, Says Bakom RI Chief

The Head of the Indonesian Communication Body (Bakom RI), Muhammad Qodari, has asserted that an honest and credible economic narrative is the key to maintaining investor trust in order to support the national reindustrialisation agenda. Qodari made the statement at the Bisnis Indonesia Forum at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, on Wednesday. “A factory is financed on trust. That trust is built on a credible story,” he said. According to Qodari, a narrative that is not credible or the delivery of exaggerated information can actually trigger doubt among investors and business actors. He assessed that a narrative which precedes reality will ultimately lose trust. Conversely, excessive pessimism also has the potential to hinder incoming investment. Qodari said reindustrialisation is determined not only by the construction of factories or policies, but also by the confidence of economic actors in a country’s future prospects. “Our economic laws are good. However, this matter of confidence may be an issue in several sectors. We believe that confidence grows from stories and communication,” he stated. According to Qodari, good and trustworthy communication can only be built on top of quality public policy. He added that Bakom RI would gather various inputs and recommendations from economic actors at the forum to be conveyed to policymakers as material for perfecting the reindustrialisation strategy.