Singapore interested in business potential of Batam, Bintan, Karimun

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said that bilateral economic cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore will enable the two countries to create wider opportunities in business so as to help attract other investors from around the world.

“We are interested in (business potential in) Batam, Bintan and Karimun, for example on tourism, transportation (international airports), and (electronic) industries,” Minister Chan said at the Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta on Monday (16/9), as quoted from the website of Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.

He added that Singapore welcomed the planned move of the capital city to East Kalimantan because it could open up opportunities for companies from the island state to invest there, such as in the sustainable management sector.

The ministerial meeting discussed the developments and challenges faced by the six Working Groups in the bilateral economic cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore.

The six Working Groups are the Batam, Bintan, Karimun (BBK) and other Special Economic Zones (KEK) Working Groups, and those on Investment, Transportation, Tourism, Labor, and Agribusiness.

“I believe the two countries have the same view that this is an important meeting in the continuation of our bilateral relations,” said Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for the Economy Darmin Nasution.

The value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and Singapore in 2018 reached 34.4 billion US dollars, or up by 16 percent compared to that in 2017.

In the first half of 2019, the value of bilateral trade was 14.2 billion US dollars, or 14 percent lower than that in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the value of Singapore’s investment in Indonesia in 2018 amounted to 9.2 billion US dollars or 8.9 percent higher than that in the same period in 2017.

Singapore is the largest source of foreign investment for Indonesia, amounting to 31.4 percent of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

Reporting by Indonesia Window