Investment Growth Slows at the Start of the Year, Foreign Investors Remain in Wait-and-See Mode
JAKARTA. Indonesia’s investment realisation in the first quarter of 2026 is projected to continue growing, albeit at a slower pace compared to the previous year.
Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Rosan Roeslani estimates that investment realisation in the first quarter of this year will reach around Rp 497 trillion.
Nevertheless, this figure is expected to record only about 7% year-on-year growth, lower than the achievement in the first quarter of 2025, which grew by up to 15.6%.
According to him, international geopolitical tensions are causing foreign investors to hold back on their investment expansions, including into Indonesia.
“This is influenced by global factors that are somewhat restraining the aggressiveness of foreign investors entering Indonesia. High global geopolitical tensions, plus from the investor side, many are taking a wait-and-see approach,” said Myrdal to Kontan on Monday (13/4/2026).
He explained that this situation is reflected in the decline in investment growth performance when compared to the first quarter of last year.
However, Myrdal believes the government still has a significant role in maintaining investment momentum through various priority development programmes.
He cited examples such as the construction of facilities under the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme, government investment in Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG), and the development of Red and White Village Cooperatives.
In addition, major government agendas like energy self-sufficiency and food self-sufficiency are also seen as additional drivers for domestic investment activities throughout this year.
From the perspective of foreign investor interest, Myrdal assesses that Indonesia’s attractiveness remains strong. This is evident from several investment cooperation commitments brought back from President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Japan, which resulted in several high-value memoranda of understanding with local businesses.
“So indirectly, this becomes a signal that our investment attractiveness is still there,” he said.
Besides external factors, Myrdal also highlighted government steps to promote policies for forming a task force to improve national investment performance. This effort is expected to enhance investment efficiency and reduce Indonesia’s incremental capital output ratio (ICOR).
On the other hand, he noted that investment realisation at the start of the year is also influenced by seasonal factors, such as Ramadan, which caused some investors to delay investments until after Eid.