Investment Ministry to Engage BYD Over Thuggery Disruptions at Subang Factory Site
The Ministry of Investment and the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) will shortly engage in dialogue with BYD, a Chinese automotive sector investor, to address disruptions caused by civil society organisations (ormas) during the construction of their factory in Subang, West Java.
"Today we will try to contact our colleagues at BYD to ascertain the situation," said Nurul Ichwan, Deputy for Investment Promotion at the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM, in Jakarta on Wednesday, 23 April 2025.
Following communication with BYD, BKPM will coordinate with the Anti-Thuggery Task Force to ensure disruptions from rogue elements within civil society organisations can be handled swiftly and appropriately.
BKPM Deputy Nurul Ichwan emphasised that thuggery and illegal levies are highly detrimental to the business community, not only disturbing investor confidence but also potentially creating a negative impression of Indonesia's investment climate in the eyes of the international community. BKPM is fully committed to maintaining investment stability and security to keep the country attractive and globally competitive.
"Anyone could pick up on this and say Indonesia is unsafe, that Indonesia has a thuggery problem," he said.
According to Nurul Ichwan, amid the current climate of global economic uncertainty, Indonesia must be capable of enhancing its competitiveness to become more attractive to foreign investors. "In the current situation, attracting investment is not easy — all countries are becoming increasingly protectionist," he said.
Reports of ormas-related thuggery disrupting the construction of the BYD electric vehicle factory were first raised by Deputy Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Eddy Soeparno. Eddy disclosed that he had received the information during a visit to Shenzhen, China, at the official invitation of the Chinese government. During the meeting, BYD expressed concerns about thuggery that had impeded progress on the construction of facilities in Subang, West Java.
"There were problems related to ormas thuggery disrupting the construction of BYD's production facilities. The government needs to act firmly to address this issue — investors coming to Indonesia must not feel they lack basic security guarantees, which is the most fundamental requirement for investment to enter Indonesia," Eddy added via a video post on Instagram, cited on Wednesday, 23 April 2025.
BYD's large-scale investment in the integrated smart city area of Subang Smartpolitan is expected to become a powerful driver of Indonesia's economic growth. The Chinese automotive company is reported to be investing up to Rp11.7 trillion in the construction of an electric vehicle factory, making the project one of the strategic steps in driving industrial transformation and strengthening Indonesia's position in the clean energy sector.
In response to the situation, BYD Indonesia stated that the construction project continues to proceed according to plan. Luther T Panjaitan, Head of Marketing, PR and Government at BYD Indonesia, affirmed that the construction process has not encountered significant obstacles to date.
"To date, all preparation and factory construction processes are proceeding well," Luther said on Wednesday, 23 April 2025.
He added that the company remains committed to completing the project on target, namely before the end of 2025. "We are focused on completing the construction process in line with our commitment to the government," he affirmed.
"Today we will try to contact our colleagues at BYD to ascertain the situation," said Nurul Ichwan, Deputy for Investment Promotion at the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/BKPM, in Jakarta on Wednesday, 23 April 2025.
Following communication with BYD, BKPM will coordinate with the Anti-Thuggery Task Force to ensure disruptions from rogue elements within civil society organisations can be handled swiftly and appropriately.
BKPM Deputy Nurul Ichwan emphasised that thuggery and illegal levies are highly detrimental to the business community, not only disturbing investor confidence but also potentially creating a negative impression of Indonesia's investment climate in the eyes of the international community. BKPM is fully committed to maintaining investment stability and security to keep the country attractive and globally competitive.
"Anyone could pick up on this and say Indonesia is unsafe, that Indonesia has a thuggery problem," he said.
According to Nurul Ichwan, amid the current climate of global economic uncertainty, Indonesia must be capable of enhancing its competitiveness to become more attractive to foreign investors. "In the current situation, attracting investment is not easy — all countries are becoming increasingly protectionist," he said.
Reports of ormas-related thuggery disrupting the construction of the BYD electric vehicle factory were first raised by Deputy Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Eddy Soeparno. Eddy disclosed that he had received the information during a visit to Shenzhen, China, at the official invitation of the Chinese government. During the meeting, BYD expressed concerns about thuggery that had impeded progress on the construction of facilities in Subang, West Java.
"There were problems related to ormas thuggery disrupting the construction of BYD's production facilities. The government needs to act firmly to address this issue — investors coming to Indonesia must not feel they lack basic security guarantees, which is the most fundamental requirement for investment to enter Indonesia," Eddy added via a video post on Instagram, cited on Wednesday, 23 April 2025.
BYD's large-scale investment in the integrated smart city area of Subang Smartpolitan is expected to become a powerful driver of Indonesia's economic growth. The Chinese automotive company is reported to be investing up to Rp11.7 trillion in the construction of an electric vehicle factory, making the project one of the strategic steps in driving industrial transformation and strengthening Indonesia's position in the clean energy sector.
In response to the situation, BYD Indonesia stated that the construction project continues to proceed according to plan. Luther T Panjaitan, Head of Marketing, PR and Government at BYD Indonesia, affirmed that the construction process has not encountered significant obstacles to date.
"To date, all preparation and factory construction processes are proceeding well," Luther said on Wednesday, 23 April 2025.
He added that the company remains committed to completing the project on target, namely before the end of 2025. "We are focused on completing the construction process in line with our commitment to the government," he affirmed.