Jakarta, January 29, 2021 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government is determined to continue
infrastructure development across the country despite the prolonged
COVID-19 pandemic that has severely impacted the economy.
Since the start of his first term in October, 2014, President Joko
Widodo (Jokowi) has prioritized national infrastructure development to
strengthen connectivity, economic growth, and national unity.
With the nation facing economic difficulty owing to the pandemic, a gap
has emerged between development demand and the availability of funding
resources. Hence, the Widodo administration has been exploring ways to
attract foreign investment to finance infrastructure development
projects, as well as support economic recovery efforts.
According to Widodo, a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) would serve as a
breakthrough in these endeavors and help the nation attract funding.
On January 27, 2021, Widodo installed the Finance Minister as chairman
and appointed four other members of the Supervisory Board of SWF, termed
the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), based on Presidential Decree
Number 6/P of 2021 on the appointment of membership of the Investment
Authority Supervisory Board.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has been appointed as chairman
and member of the INA. The other members are Minister of State-owned
Enterprises (SOEs / BUMN) Erick Thohir, Darwin Cyril Noerhadi, Yozua
Makes, and Haryanto Sahari.
On December 15, 2020, the President had issued three governmental
regulations on the establishment of Indonesia’s SWF, as mandated in the
country’s first omnibus law, Law No. 11 Year 2020 on Job Creation.
The objective of INA will be to increase and optimize long-term
investment to support sustainable development, according to Article 5 of
the Law. INA will serve as a legal entity answerable to the President
and have special authority to represent the sovereign Indonesian
government.
