On November 30th 2023, Jakarta Investment Centre (JIC) held JIC Talks 2024 with the theme “Optimism for Jakarta's Economy and Investment in 2024”. The event aims to develop the insights of public sectors, private sectors, and other stakeholders on the economic conditions of DKI Jakarta in 2024. It invited a panel of economic experts and practitioners in discussing the upcoming economic outlook and predicting obstacles in the process of economic growth and investment. Acting as the speakers were Mr Denny Irawan, the Head of Research and Economics PwC Indonesia; Ms Asmiati Abdul Malik, Associate at INDEF; and Rufita Sri Hasanah, The coordinator of National and Regional Macroeconomic Frameworks at BAPPENAS.
Mr Denny Irawan, the Head of Research and Economics PwC Indonesia, provided the information on the 2024 global economy which is predicted to experience various challenges in line with the impact of armed conflicts occurring in several regions, Bank of America's policies in coping with domestic economic obstacles, rising commodity prices, and the impact of El Niño at the global level. He stated that despite the fact that investment optimism in 2024 was not very good, it did not mean that investment optimism in 2024 would decline.
Based on a survey conducted by PwC regarding entrepreneurs' optimism in assessing business in 2023, it was revealed that, in the next five years, entrepreneurs would not feel optimistic considering conditions of inflation and economic uncertainty. PWC’s survey also indicated that the increase of investment in cybersecurity and data privacy would be the highest, followed by adjustments to the supply chain and market expansion.
Notwithstanding the global economic challenges in 2023 and the predicted challenges in 2024, Mr Denny Irawan said that Asia could become a driving force for the global economy considering its high consumption, good economic growth and wise use of subsidies. In this case, Jakarta, as a metropolitan area which has served as the center of investment and the economy in Indonesia for ages, was projected to continue to emerge as a major player in investment and the national economy.
Ms Asmiati Abdul Malik, an Associate at INDEF, said that in facing global economic challenges, Jakarta need to develop its five main developments in addition to unfolding alternative financing models. Besides, she argued that Jakarta should also respond to the factors that influenced its economic and investment condition, either external and internal ones. External factors include energy, food security, inflation, trade wars, geopolitics, and climate change. Meanwhile, internal factors include the upcoming general elections, the low quality of education, bureaucratic problems, and the quality of voting rights holders in which the majority of whom were still low. At the same time, she highlighted other issues such as poor environmental quality, high rate of unemployment, and high levels of political interest that would continue to develop in line with Jakarta's goal orientation which needs to be asserted after the relocation of the capital city.
Ms Rufita Sri Hasanah, Coordinator of National and Regional Macroeconomic Frameworks at BAPPENAS brought to mind that Indonesia was projected to become the fourth largest economy in the world in 2050 after China, the United States and India. In this case, she argued that Jakarta could be part of global change; however, it would require significant improvement and long-term political orientation. Improving investment conditions was said to be one of the things that should be taken into account.
As an attempt to heighten the investment sector, the Indonesian government has established a strategy to increase investment, which has been formulated in the 2024 RKP and 2025 - 2045 RPJPN. Some of the points included increasing legal capacity, improving quality, optimizing investment facilitation, and intensifying sustainable industrial down streaming. She particularly underscored that global investment trends in 2023 were towards investment in sustainability, information technology, and artificial intelligence. In this instance, Indonesia should jack up those fields to raise either its investment realization or competitiveness.
The event concluded with the awarding of token appreciation to the three invited speakers by Mrs Tona Hutauruk, the Head of Jakarta Investment Centre. Following that, Mrs Tona Hutauruk reiterated the role and function of JIC as the one-stop center to administer and consult on investment-related matters in Jakarta