Two Blessings from Q1 Investment: High Job Absorption and Domestic Investor Dominance Signal Promising Crossroads for Indonesia
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The first quarter 2025 investment realisation figures contain two major blessings worthy of deeper scrutiny beyond mere macroeconomic numbers: significant job absorption and the resurgence of domestic investor dominance. Both are not merely good news from a statistical perspective, but important indicators of the direction of growth and the resilience of the national economy going forward.
Investment Minister and Downstream Industries/BKPM Head Rosan Perkasa Roeslani's statement regarding the absorption of more than 594,000 workers from new investments, along with the surge in domestic investment growth, marks two moments of momentum that, if leveraged correctly, could bring about structural transformation to Indonesia's economy.
Amid the clamour of news about layoffs in the manufacturing sector, particularly over the past six months, the fact that nearly 600,000 people were absorbed into investment activities represents a breath of fresh air that must not be overlooked.
As noted by Christiantoko, Executive Director of NEXT Indonesia Center, this achievement carries strategic significance that often escapes public attention because the dominant narrative has been focused on the gloomy side of industrial turbulence.
In this context, investment realisation is not merely a matter of capital and infrastructure, but also one of livelihoods and human dignity. When nearly 600,000 people gain employment opportunities, we are talking about 600,000 households that can maintain their purchasing power, children's education, and access to healthcare. Employment is the most concrete foundation of economic development oriented towards public welfare.
Furthermore, Christiantoko emphasised that household consumption accounts for approximately 54 per cent of national GDP. This means job absorption directly keeps the main engine of the economy running. In an economic system like Indonesia's, where the majority of the population falls within the lower-middle class, the relationship between employment and economic resilience is extremely close. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that successfully absorbing hundreds of thousands of workers through investment is a tangible form of inclusive development strategy.
President Prabowo has also established a Layoff Task Force as a demonstration of concern for the national workforce, and this investment data could serve as both evaluation material and fuel for optimism in shaping future employment strategies.
Equally important is the second blessing from the investment report: the resurgence of domestic investor enthusiasm. For years, foreign direct investment (FDI) dominated Indonesia's investment structure. In 2022, for instance, FDI accounted for 54.2 per cent of total investment, and in 2024 it still stood at 52.5 per cent.
In an open economic system, the role of FDI is certainly important, particularly in terms of technology transfer and strengthening industrial capacity. However, there is a fundamental challenge when dependence on foreign investment becomes too great: vulnerability to global dynamics, geopolitical uncertainty, and capital flows that cannot always be controlled by national policy.
This is where the significance of the first quarter 2025 data becomes striking. With domestic investment (PMDN) growth of 19.1 per cent year-on-year, far outpacing FDI which grew by only 12.7 per cent, the contribution of local investors has finally surpassed that of foreign investors — 50.5 per cent of total investment realisation now originates from within the country.
This is not merely a statistic, but a representation of a shift in direction in national economic strategy. Economic self-reliance is not just a political slogan; it becomes possible when local business actors dare to invest their capital, see a future domestically, and build growth from internal strength.
This phenomenon is widely seen as a sign of renewed enthusiasm among local entrepreneurs. Such optimism must be nurtured with precise policies — legal certainty, well-targeted fiscal incentives, and bureaucratic simplification must continue to be pursued so that this does not become merely a temporary anomaly.
Moreover, in President Prabowo's narrative, economic self-reliance always occupies a central position. If local business actors become the main drivers of investment, then the money circulation generated will also revolve more within the domestic economy. The implications include strengthening domestic fiscal capacity, increasing regional revenues, and reducing dependence on fluctuating foreign capital flows.
This also opens new space for the consolidation of national strategic sectors. When local capital is more dominant, opportunities to build interconnected industrial networks also grow, including forming robust ecosystems in renewable energy, modern agriculture, information technology, and manufacturing based on domestic resources.
In this context, investment becomes more than merely an instrument of economic growth; it becomes a tool for structural transformation. Investment's contribution to GDP in 2024 reached 29 per cent, and there remains considerable room for increasing that contribution. However, such increases will only be meaningful if accompanied by a shift in investment quality: from capital-intensive to labour-intensive, from extractive to productive, from centralised to dispersed, from short-term orientation to sustainable.
The two pieces of good news from the first quarter — high job absorption and domestic investment dominance — signal that Indonesia stands at a promising crossroads. What is needed now is the courage to make this the foundation of long-term policy, not merely a momentary achievement.
In other words, these two blessings from investment realisation are not just a success story, but a call to strengthen the national economic architecture. If investment continues to be directed towards absorbing labour and strengthening the role of domestic investors, then Indonesia's economy will not only grow, but will also stand on a firm and sovereign footing.
Investment Minister and Downstream Industries/BKPM Head Rosan Perkasa Roeslani's statement regarding the absorption of more than 594,000 workers from new investments, along with the surge in domestic investment growth, marks two moments of momentum that, if leveraged correctly, could bring about structural transformation to Indonesia's economy.
Amid the clamour of news about layoffs in the manufacturing sector, particularly over the past six months, the fact that nearly 600,000 people were absorbed into investment activities represents a breath of fresh air that must not be overlooked.
As noted by Christiantoko, Executive Director of NEXT Indonesia Center, this achievement carries strategic significance that often escapes public attention because the dominant narrative has been focused on the gloomy side of industrial turbulence.
In this context, investment realisation is not merely a matter of capital and infrastructure, but also one of livelihoods and human dignity. When nearly 600,000 people gain employment opportunities, we are talking about 600,000 households that can maintain their purchasing power, children's education, and access to healthcare. Employment is the most concrete foundation of economic development oriented towards public welfare.
Furthermore, Christiantoko emphasised that household consumption accounts for approximately 54 per cent of national GDP. This means job absorption directly keeps the main engine of the economy running. In an economic system like Indonesia's, where the majority of the population falls within the lower-middle class, the relationship between employment and economic resilience is extremely close. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that successfully absorbing hundreds of thousands of workers through investment is a tangible form of inclusive development strategy.
President Prabowo has also established a Layoff Task Force as a demonstration of concern for the national workforce, and this investment data could serve as both evaluation material and fuel for optimism in shaping future employment strategies.
Equally important is the second blessing from the investment report: the resurgence of domestic investor enthusiasm. For years, foreign direct investment (FDI) dominated Indonesia's investment structure. In 2022, for instance, FDI accounted for 54.2 per cent of total investment, and in 2024 it still stood at 52.5 per cent.
In an open economic system, the role of FDI is certainly important, particularly in terms of technology transfer and strengthening industrial capacity. However, there is a fundamental challenge when dependence on foreign investment becomes too great: vulnerability to global dynamics, geopolitical uncertainty, and capital flows that cannot always be controlled by national policy.
This is where the significance of the first quarter 2025 data becomes striking. With domestic investment (PMDN) growth of 19.1 per cent year-on-year, far outpacing FDI which grew by only 12.7 per cent, the contribution of local investors has finally surpassed that of foreign investors — 50.5 per cent of total investment realisation now originates from within the country.
This is not merely a statistic, but a representation of a shift in direction in national economic strategy. Economic self-reliance is not just a political slogan; it becomes possible when local business actors dare to invest their capital, see a future domestically, and build growth from internal strength.
This phenomenon is widely seen as a sign of renewed enthusiasm among local entrepreneurs. Such optimism must be nurtured with precise policies — legal certainty, well-targeted fiscal incentives, and bureaucratic simplification must continue to be pursued so that this does not become merely a temporary anomaly.
Moreover, in President Prabowo's narrative, economic self-reliance always occupies a central position. If local business actors become the main drivers of investment, then the money circulation generated will also revolve more within the domestic economy. The implications include strengthening domestic fiscal capacity, increasing regional revenues, and reducing dependence on fluctuating foreign capital flows.
This also opens new space for the consolidation of national strategic sectors. When local capital is more dominant, opportunities to build interconnected industrial networks also grow, including forming robust ecosystems in renewable energy, modern agriculture, information technology, and manufacturing based on domestic resources.
In this context, investment becomes more than merely an instrument of economic growth; it becomes a tool for structural transformation. Investment's contribution to GDP in 2024 reached 29 per cent, and there remains considerable room for increasing that contribution. However, such increases will only be meaningful if accompanied by a shift in investment quality: from capital-intensive to labour-intensive, from extractive to productive, from centralised to dispersed, from short-term orientation to sustainable.
The two pieces of good news from the first quarter — high job absorption and domestic investment dominance — signal that Indonesia stands at a promising crossroads. What is needed now is the courage to make this the foundation of long-term policy, not merely a momentary achievement.
In other words, these two blessings from investment realisation are not just a success story, but a call to strengthen the national economic architecture. If investment continues to be directed towards absorbing labour and strengthening the role of domestic investors, then Indonesia's economy will not only grow, but will also stand on a firm and sovereign footing.