The Indonesian government is open to engage with investors from the European Union to develop information and communication technology infrastructure or digital infrastructure.
Minister of Communication and Information Technology Johnny G. Plate said that investment opportunities in upstream and downstream digital infrastructure were wide open with the increasing number of Indonesians using digital technology.
“The European Investment Bank (EIB) is interested in developing its investment in Indonesia. To date, EIB has invested approximately US$500 million in Indonesia. However, the Ambassador noted that EIB has a vast portfolio totaling over US$1 billion that can be invested in Indonesia,” he said when meeting with the European Union (EU) Ambassador for Indonesia Vincent Piket in his office on June 7, 2022.
During the meeting, both the minister and the ambassador discussed investment opportunities in digital infrastructure, a financing scheme for Indonesia investments and the General Data Protection Regulation.
“Whether it is fiber optics, fiber links, satellite, up to the transceiver station, we open the door to them in the downstream infrastructure of information and communication technology like data centers. Not only for government data centers but also private sector data centers,” Plate said.
According to Plate, Indonesia is among countries with lowest data consumption per capita.
“As compared to our neighbors such as Japan, which has 100 watts per capita, for example, Indonesia as an archipelago only has 10 watts per capita. This means we could develop ten times more than we do now. The tenfold development amounts to 3 gigaWatts of power,” he added.
“Investment potential in the digital sector may facilitate participation by the European Investment Bank in financing activities. Indonesia is currently establishing a new model of financing called blended financing and green financing, which aims to support environmentally friendly infrastructure development,” Plate explained.
Plate also discussed collaboration opportunities for financing schemes in Indonesian investment, particularly related to domestic production.
“We discussed not only digital infrastructure but also financing cooperation. The EU has a powerful financial system and large trade financing and is eager to invest in Indonesia, particularly in the digital sector and domestic production,” he said.
