For decades Indonesia has been in the shadow of its Asian neighbours who have grown exponentially and created powerful economies and industries. Even today; many people outside of Indonesia have no idea where the country is, often recognising some of its more famous locations such as Bali over the country of which it resides.
Surrounded by oceans and powerhouse economies; Indonesia has been forgotten by the mainstream media and investors, but is it time things began to change?
Gary Joy a financial advisor and director of Letsmoveindonesia.com talks to us about why people should invest in Indonesia and the many benefits of doing so.
For shrewd investors, many will already be aware that Indonesia is plentiful of natural resources and a limitless work force. But what many do not realise is just how fast the country is growing. Indonesia’s economy is currently the 16th largest in the world and it is predicted to be the 7th largest by 2030 overtaking European heavyweights such as UK and Germany.
President Joko Widodo, best known as Jokowi, has been expressive in his desire to return Indonesia to 7% growth per annum, a rate which has not been seen since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. Last year, preliminary figures show that the economy grew just 4.8% its slowest rate since 2009; however, based on absolute numbers, Indonesia remains the largest economy in ASEAN, bar China and India – the only countries to exceed it in population.
President Jokowi has launched a massive infrastructure campaign aimed at spurring growth and driving down logistic costs, whilst also improving maritime connectivity, tying further sprung parts of the nation to Javanese prosperity. Demographically Indonesia has picked the right time to do so, due to its bumper crop of young people who are about to enter the workforce; in fact, the medium age of Indonesians is 28.2 years old, meaning half of its 252 million inhabitants is younger than 30. In contrast the workforces of China, Thailand and Malaysia are aging and beginning to shrink.
Jokowi also hopes that by improving logistics and increasing manufacturing, Indonesia will begin to decrease its reliance on extractive industries such as mining and focus on more sustainable industries.
For those who have been to Indonesia, you cannot help but notice the amount of unfinished business and problems that need to be solved. Unlike entrepreneurs from countries such as Japan and US, who are focusing on making new apps for socialising; Indonesia’s has more fundamental problems that need to be developed. The Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board highlighted infrastructure, food and agriculture, and energy as key areas to develop.
In this exciting time of growth and ambition, property prices have excelled, more than doubling since 2009. The number of luxurious apartment blocks and homes has also seen a rapid increase due the fast expansion of Indonesia’s middle class residents, spawned from recent prosperity. At LetsMoveIndonesia we are proud to have expanded during this economic period and to be the undisputed home of premium investment property within Indonesia.
Overall as you can gather, Indonesia is abundant with investment opportunities for those willing to invest in the right areas. Now is the right time to invest and reap the rewards of this burgeoning archipelago.
