Himbara Ready to Become Gateway for Global Capital Flows via PFII
The Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara) has stated it is ready to take on a strategic role in the Indonesian International Financial Centre (PFII) ecosystem as a gateway for various global capital flows into the country.
BNI’s Director of Institutional Relations, representing Himbara, Eko Setyo Nugroho, said the presence of the PFII has the potential to strengthen the competitiveness of the national financial sector while increasing Indonesia’s attractiveness as an investment destination. This activity is expected to strengthen the intermediation function of the financial sector and support sustainable national economic growth.
In this regard, Eko mentioned that Himbara could become the entry point for various types of global investors if the PFII is successfully built with a competitive ecosystem. He noted that, so far, most of these capital flows still pass through international financial centres outside Indonesia.
‘With the PFII, Himbara can act as a gateway for the entry of global capital, ranging from foreign direct investment, institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, to the capital market,’ Eko said during a Public Hearing Meeting of the Working Committee for the Indonesian International Financial Centre Bill at Commission XI of the Indonesian House of Representatives on Thursday (9/7/2026).
Eko explained that within this ecosystem, Himbara would not only serve as a link between global investors and investment opportunities in Indonesia but also play a role in providing integrated financial services.
‘In this ecosystem, Himbara acts as a gateway that not only connects global investors with national investment opportunities but also provides integrated financial solutions, builds strategic partnerships, and supports financing needs throughout the investment cycle. Subsequently, the capital successfully raised can be channelled to various national priority sectors,’ he clarified.
Nevertheless, Eko stressed that the success of the PFII cannot rely solely on incentives or business potential. According to him, the foundation of regulation, governance, and legal certainty are the main factors in attracting investor confidence.
Furthermore, he said the implementation of the PFII must also be carried out in stages, taking into account infrastructure readiness, industry capacity, and risk mitigation so that the expected benefits can be achieved optimally.
‘With this approach, the PFII is expected to strengthen Indonesia’s position as a competitive financial activity centre at both the regional and global levels,’ Eko explained.
As input for the formulation of the PFII, Himbara has also studied several international financial centres that have developed earlier. Eko said the association conducted benchmarking against the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Dubai International Financial Centre, Hong Kong International Financial Centre, and Singapore International Financial Centre.
From this benchmarking, Himbara found that every international financial centre has a clear positioning and economic target. Abu Dhabi and the Dubai International Financial Centre, for example, were developed as special zones or zone-based IFCs. Meanwhile, Hong Kong and Singapore developed as financial centres encompassing the entire city or country.
‘This means the success of a financial centre is largely determined by the clarity of its direction, who the target players are, what financial products are developed, and what role it wants to play in the region,’ Eko concluded.