Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has announced that solar panel or photovoltaic glass investments worth US$ 3.5-4 billion (IDR 55-62.9 trillion), are set to enter North Kalimantan.
“Photovoltaic glass investment will enter North Kalimantan, with an investment of US$ 3.5-4 billion,” Luhut said as quoted by Antara, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Luhut revealed that this investment commitment was secured by Deputy for Investment and Mining Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Septian Hario Seto, during his recent business trip to China.
Seto met with one of the world’s largest solar panel raw material production companies during his trip to Shanghai, China. China is known to have the largest capacity of solar power plants (PLTS) in the world, reaching a total of 253.8 GW in 2020.
In addition to finalizing commitments with solar panel companies, Luhut disclosed that Seto’s business trip also secured investment commitments from textile companies after heading to Ningbo, China.
“They (textile companies) suddenly said, ‘We want to invest in Indonesia’,” he said.
Luhut likened these textile companies to Foxconn for Apple, where Foxconn is a company that manufactures various electronic components and circuit boards.
These textile companies, he said, are the “Foxconn” for Nike, Adidas, Puma, and Uniqlo. According to Luhut, both of these investments will have a positive impact on job creation in Indonesia.
He also highlighted China’s economic slowdown, but emphasized its choice of Indonesia as an investment destination.
“I think it’s very interesting. So, if someone said we were reckless before, go take a look first, then speak,” said Luhut.
In addition to these two investments, Luhut also said that Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD, will lay the cornerstone or groundbreaking ceremony in July.
The Chinese company officially entered the Indonesian market after introducing three series of its electric cars in Jakarta last month. The company has also announced prices for each series ranging from IDR 425-719 million. It is also committed to building a local factory in Indonesia.
