The Oxford Business Group’s report on Indonesia is now available. The report explores:

• Indonesia’s economic progress and challenges over the last five years as it faces pivotal elections, with comments from Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia.
• Prospects for new international trade agreements and the further easing of restrictions on FDI, with comments from Enggartiasto Lukita, Minister of Trade, and Thomas Lembong, Chairman of BKPM.
• How Indonesia’s rising fintech prowess is helping transform the country into Southeast Asia’s largest digital economy, with comments from Nadiem Makarim, CEO of GOJEK, and Jason Thompson, CEO of OVO.
• The potential for the Making Indonesia 4.0 policy to boost high-value exports and attract foreign investment, with comments from Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Industry, and Rosan Roeslani, Chairman of KADIN.
• Mass-transit infrastructure developments and their impact on urban traffic congestion.

The report also features interviews with key business leaders and policy-makers along with in-depth sector by sector analysis on the economy of Indonesia.

In 2018 the Indonesian economy recorded a growth rate of 5.2%, the highest in five years. This was in spite of a slump in the rupiah and a trade imbalance, and took place against a backdrop of rising US interest rates and deteriorating trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies.

The country’s emphasis on industrialisation and infrastructure development is laying the foundations for continued economic growth. Moreover, the archipelago’s growing middle class population, geographical position and human capital development agenda, alongside progress in free-trade agreements, make it a strong contender on the global economic stage.

The country holds considerable potential for developing entrepreneurial and creative prowess, already being home to four unicorn startups. Investors have continued to look beyond traditional destinations, with emerging cities like Surabaya and Palembang showing strong possibilities for economic growth.

Although the outcome of the April 2019 national election will determine the course of further infrastructure development and tax reforms, the future looks promising, with predictions of continued growth accompanied by stable inflation.