Many Hong Kong businesses of different sectors are seeking to expand to Indonesia, thus showing that the upcoming election has little effect on investors’ appetite, according to the region’s trade body representative.

Government data shows that Hong Kong has never left the top 4 ranking for Indonesia’s largest foreign investors over the past years. It is likely that more Hong Kong investment will come to Jakarta in the future.

Kevin Chiu, the director for Indonesia at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), said that businesses had been asking how they could set up a company in the archipelagic country.

According to Kevin, businesses across the globe today have their eyes on ASEAN. Indonesia — which is home to the bloc’s largest population amounting to over 270 million people — becomes a highly potential market that Hong Kong does not want to miss out on.

While some businesses may be putting their investment on hold due to the election in February, there are others who remain aggressive.

“We receive a lot of inquiries from Hong Kong companies who wish to invest in Indonesia. Some want to learn about the new capital project [Nusantara], but many are interested in setting up companies [here],” Kevin told the Jakarta Globe in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“And setting up a company takes a long time. Even though we will have the presidential election next year, it is not stopping the appetite and interest of companies to invest in Indonesia. It is just a matter of schedule,” Kevin said.

Kevin told the Globe that these interested businesses came from many sectors.

“Some are from the energy sector. For example, one company is very prominent in manufacturing solar panels and glass products,” he said.

Kevin was referring to glassmaker Xinyi Glass who had agreed to invest $11.6 billion to build glass and solar panel manufacturing facilities in Rempang island.

“There are other companies from the manufacturing sector. Toys manufacturing, clothing. But this one is a traditional OEM [original equipment manufacturer]. … There are also many service companies such as law and accounting firms who want to help foreign investors to come to Indonesia,” Kevin said, without revealing their names.

The government reported that Hong Kong had been among Indonesia’s largest sources of foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2021, Hong Kong managed to surpass China as Indonesia’s second-largest foreign investor. Hong Kong’s investment in Indonesia totaled $4.6 billion that year, just behind first-place Singapore ($9.4 billion).