Deputy Investment Minister Reveals Three Key Sectors Attracting Chinese Investment in Indonesia
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Deputy Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Todotua Pasaribu, has revealed the three main sectors most sought after by China for investment in Indonesia.
The first sector attracting Chinese investors is processing, specifically downstream smelters. "The number one priority is certainly processing smelters. Because we're focused on downstreaming, particularly when we talk about downstreaming, the success story has been in nickel commodities. And we can say that 80 to 90 per cent of the players come from China," said Todotua after attending the Global Business Summit at the Ministry of Investment offices in Jakarta on Sunday (25/5/2025).
The second sector is manufacturing. China's large population drives high demand for manufactured products, opening significant opportunities for developing similar industries in Indonesia. "The second trend is in the manufacturing industry, because their manufacturing sector is enormous. Their population is close to 1.5 billion, so their advanced manufacturing is substantial. The manufacturing covers everything from shoes, clothing and so on — they are indeed looking at the large markets here," Todotua explained.
The third sector is energy. Todotua noted that China still relies on coal on a large scale, but the transition to green energy is also under way. "This means they are still operating at large scale, but moving towards green energy, where they are already more advanced — and that is what we need," he said.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is currently visiting Indonesia, accompanied by 60 business leaders to explore investment opportunities. Previously, Indonesia and China agreed on investments worth US$10 billion, with the agreement now entering the implementation phase.
The first sector attracting Chinese investors is processing, specifically downstream smelters. "The number one priority is certainly processing smelters. Because we're focused on downstreaming, particularly when we talk about downstreaming, the success story has been in nickel commodities. And we can say that 80 to 90 per cent of the players come from China," said Todotua after attending the Global Business Summit at the Ministry of Investment offices in Jakarta on Sunday (25/5/2025).
The second sector is manufacturing. China's large population drives high demand for manufactured products, opening significant opportunities for developing similar industries in Indonesia. "The second trend is in the manufacturing industry, because their manufacturing sector is enormous. Their population is close to 1.5 billion, so their advanced manufacturing is substantial. The manufacturing covers everything from shoes, clothing and so on — they are indeed looking at the large markets here," Todotua explained.
The third sector is energy. Todotua noted that China still relies on coal on a large scale, but the transition to green energy is also under way. "This means they are still operating at large scale, but moving towards green energy, where they are already more advanced — and that is what we need," he said.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is currently visiting Indonesia, accompanied by 60 business leaders to explore investment opportunities. Previously, Indonesia and China agreed on investments worth US$10 billion, with the agreement now entering the implementation phase.