The Batam Indonesia Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam) is enticing the United States to choose Batam Island as the location to build semiconductor industrial plants.
Irfan Syakir Widyasa, Head of BP Batam’s Development Center, said the government is seriously developing Batam, including designating it as a free trade and special economic zone. He cited that the master plan for the development of Batam, Bintan, and Karimun is outlined in Presidential Regulation No. 1/2024.
To avoid competition among the three neighboring islands, the economic specialization of each is regulated. “For Batam, in the future, it will be more specialized in light industries but with high value-added, such as semiconductors, data centers, and animation industries,” Irfan said during a discussion on Sunday, February 25, 2024. Regarding the development of the semiconductor industry, Irfan explained that the opportunity to attract foreign investment is significant. The reason being, the US is seeking locations to build semiconductor industrial plants.
According to Irfan, the US is relocating its factories from China due to the ongoing cold war between the two superpowers. He claimed that Batam is one of the locations being eyed by the US.
“Even their parliament [US Congress] has allocated US$50 billion per year to find countries. There are six countries being monitored, one of which is Indonesia. And where in Indonesia? In Batam,” he revealed.
Irfan said the realization of foreign direct investment in Batam in 2023 reached US$295.9 million from 3,551 projects. The top five countries investing in Batam are Singapore (US$366.5 million), China (US$51.8 million), Hong Kong (US$41.7 million), France (US$40.8 million), and Japan (US$22.7 million).
