3 Days in Germany, RI Pocketed 27 Business Deals Worth Nearly IDR 28 Trillion
After visiting Germany for three days, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) managed to secure 27 business deals with an investment value of US$1.98 billion or Rp.27.9 trillion. This good news was stated directly by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto when opening the Indonesian Pavilion at Hannover Messe.
Of the total cooperation that was successfully bagged, 1 of them was in the form of intergovernmental agreements (Government to Government/G2G), 4 agreements between the government and business actors (G2B), while 22 others were agreements between companies (B2B).
According to Airlangga, this cooperation can absorb up to 18,000 workers. In this biggest technology exhibition event, he said, the Indonesian government focuses on encouraging cooperation in the fields of industry, environment, research and innovation, maritime, education, health, tourism, vocational education, to the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). .
On a different occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi explained that for G2G two agreements had been signed. First, the formation of a joint public-private sector forum to discuss increasing economic and investment cooperation.
Second, the Joint Declaration of Intent in The Feed of Digitalization between the Ministry of Communication and Informatics and the German Ministry of Digital and Transformation to support the development of digital transformation.
Get a car battery project investment of up to IDR 38 trillion
On the first day of his arrival, Jokowi had a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Guesthouse Lower Saxony, Hannover, Germany, Sunday (16/4/2023). On that occasion, the two discussed investment and economic relations.
However, before meeting Olaf, it turned out that Jokowi had already met the leaders of three large European companies at the Kastens Luisenhof Hotel, Hannover, Germany.
The three companies include: a chemical company from Germany, BASF, a mining company from France, Eramet, and Volkswagen, a motor vehicle manufacturer. All of them expressed interest in investing in Indonesia.
The leadership of BASF (Badische Anilin und Sodafabrik) has directly conveyed that his company will build a car battery ecosystem in North Maluku. Indonesian Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahdalia said BASF’s investment value reached US$2.6 billion or the equivalent of IDR 38.2 trillion.
“The investment is approximately US$ 2.6 billion,” Bahlil said in his statement after the meeting, quoted from Tempo.co .
In this project, said Bahlil, BASF will work together with Eramet, to create an ecosystem that is claimed to implement ESG (Environment, Social, and Government) business practices.
“The construction process will begin at the end of 2023,” said Bahlil.
Not only that, PowerCo, a battery company owned by Volkswagen, is also interested in building a car battery ecosystem in Indonesia. Bahlil said PowerCo would cooperate with a number of Indonesian foreign and domestic companies. However, he has not disclosed the amount of investment commitment from Volkswagen.
Several companies that are confirmed to collaborate with Volkswagen include: Vale, Ford, Eramet, the Kalla Group and the Merdeka group.
“The point is the same as building a car battery ecosystem, but there are those who directly invest in JVs and there are those who guarantee the supply of raw materials,” he added.