Indonesia's Investment Reaches Rp498 Trillion, Here's the Government's Next Steps - Warta Ekonomi

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto reported positive investment performance in the first quarter of 2026, successfully exceeding the set targets. During this period, investment realisation reached Rp498.79 trillion, growing by 7.22% year-on-year compared to Rp465.2 trillion in the same period last year. Labour absorption also increased significantly, by 706,569 people (up 18.93% year-on-year). This reflects the real contribution of investment to job creation and economic distribution, including increased investment outside Java. Coordinating Minister Airlangga conveyed these achievements at the Press Conference on First Quarter 2026 Investment Realisation and Implementation of KBLI 2025 at the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming office in Jakarta, on Thursday (23/4/2026). Additionally, Bank Indonesia maintained the BI Rate at 4.75% to strengthen exchange rate stability amid external volatility. The March 2026 Manufacturing PMI was at 50.1, still in the expansion phase, with the first quarter 2026 average consistently above 50 and remaining competitive in the ASEAN region. From the external side, the trade balance surplus has been recorded for 70 consecutive months, with adequate foreign exchange reserves of USD148.2 billion. Meanwhile, the state budget deficit as of March 2026 remained low at 0.93% of GDP, reflecting fiscal discipline amid measured expansion. In line with these achievements, the Government emphasised that Indonesia remains a prospective investment destination. To that end, through the Task Force for Accelerating Government Programmes to Support Economic Growth Enhancement (P3M-PPE) established via Presidential Decree No. 4 of 2026, the Government continues to ensure that every policy delivers real impacts on ease of doing business, including efforts to remove investment bottlenecks. Furthermore, the Government stated that the implementation of the 2025 Indonesian Standard Business Field Classification (KBLI) adjustment is an important part of strengthening the risk-based business licensing system. The 2025 KBLI adjustment is expected to provide legal certainty, improve licensing process efficiency, and boost national investment competitiveness. The 2025 KBLI adjustment, stipulated through the Regulation of the Central Statistics Agency, is an important update from the previous KBLI to accommodate new economic developments. The update covers the digital economy and artificial intelligence sectors, climate change mitigation, new business models, and strengthening the financial services sector including bullion banks. “To provide certainty to business actors, today we announce a Joint Circular Letter (SEB) between the Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of BKPM, the Minister of Law, and the Head of BPS. This SEB serves as operational technical guidance in implementing the KBLI code adjustment without harming business interests,” said Coordinating Minister Airlangga, quoted from the press release of the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, on Thursday (23/4).