HKI Confident Indonesian Investment Will Continue to Grow Amid Currency Weakness
The Indonesian Industrial Estates Association (HKI) is confident that investment will continue to grow despite pressure on the rupiah exchange rate and volatility in both global and domestic financial markets.
Speaking in Jakarta on Monday, HKI Chairman Akhmad Ma’ruf Maulana stated that the weakening of the rupiah and corrections in the stock market should be viewed proportionally, as they are part of the global economic cycle. He noted that Indonesia has successfully navigated various global economic challenges, including the Asian financial crisis, the 2008 global crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and various geopolitical tensions. These experiences demonstrate that national economic resilience should not be measured solely by daily exchange rate movements or stock indices, but by the ability to maintain real economic activities, investment, production, and job creation.
HKI maintains that Indonesia’s economic fundamentals remain a magnet for long-term investors due to its combination of a large market, abundant natural resources, and ongoing downstreaming agendas, making it a strategic production base and market in Southeast Asia. Amidst global uncertainty, HKI is urging the government to continue accelerating structural reforms to maintain investment inflows. The association believes the primary focus should not be on short-term market volatility, but on ensuring that investment can enter and be realised more rapidly.
According to HKI, regulatory simplification, accelerated licensing, synchronisation of central and regional policies, spatial planning certainty, energy availability, and improved infrastructure quality are more decisive factors for investors than financial market fluctuations. “Investors essentially seek three things: certainty, speed, and ease. When these three elements are provided consistently, Indonesia will remain competitive even as the world faces economic and geopolitical pressures,” Ma’ruf added.
HKI also expressed appreciation for the coordination between the government, Bank Indonesia, and financial authorities in maintaining financial system stability and enhancing the attractiveness of domestic assets. This coordination is considered vital for maintaining market confidence in the national economy. Furthermore, HKI views the global economic slowdown as an opportunity for Indonesia to attract more investment, as many multinational companies are currently reviewing global supply chains and seeking more efficient, stable investment locations with large markets. Indonesia is seen as having a significant opportunity to capture industrial relocation flows if regulatory reforms and investment acceleration are consistently implemented.
“History shows that countries capable of moving quickly amidst uncertainty become winners when the global economy recovers. Therefore, now is not the time for pessimism. This is the right moment to strengthen collaboration between the government, the business community, industrial estates, and investors to maintain the momentum of national economic growth,” Ma’ruf concluded. HKI reaffirmed its commitment to being a strategic partner to the government in accelerating investment, strengthening the national industrial ecosystem, and ensuring industrial estates remain engines of economic growth.