The East Kalimantan Provincial Government opens investment opportunities to Malaysian entrepreneurs who will develop business in the East Kalimantan region which has been designated as the location of the Archipelago Capital (IKN).
East Kalimantan Provincial Secretary Sri Wahyuni in Samarinda, Monday, said Malaysia is one of the strongest countries to invest in East Kalimantan for the Asian region.
“The relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia is a source of investment for East Kalimantan,” Sri Wahyuni said when receiving a working visit from the Malaysian Consulate in the Tepian II Meeting Room of the East Kalimantan Governor’s Office.
The Malaysian delegation was led by Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Dato’ Syed Mohammad Hasrin Tengku Hussin along with 12 Malaysian consulate officials in Jakarta and Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
Investment potential, said the Secretary, since there is an Archipelago Capital (IKN), three industrial areas in East Kalimantan have been designated as IKN superhubs.
One of them, the Maloy Batuta Trans Kalimantan Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in East Kutai, will be handled by Bappenas to redesign the regional master plan.
“We encourage investors from Malaysia to join this area,” he said.
In addition, Balikpapan’s Kariangau Industrial Estate is already running container activities and is adjacent to IKN.
Furthermore, the Secretary said investment in East Kalimantan continues to grow, such as investment in the cement industry (PT Kobexindo) from China and the nickel smelter industry in Sanga-Sanga Kutai Kartanegara.
“Downstreaming is the focus of the Government, both national and regional related to investment,” he explained.
Malaysian Ambassador Dato’ Syed Mohammad Hasrin Tengku Hussin admitted that the visit to East Kalimantan was his first visit after being given the mandate since June 2023.
“The purpose of our visit is to see East Kalimantan and its potential firsthand. Of course it is different when only hearing and seeing the situation directly,” he said.
Dato’ Syed admitted that so far the relationship and cooperation between Indonesia (East Kalimantan) and Malaysia is very good.
This is indicated by the existence of several investors from the neighboring country that have invested in the Etam Continent, especially the oil palm plantation and telecommunications sub-sectors.
Moreover, the rapid development in IKN, according to him, is a great opportunity for Malaysian investors to be involved in investing in the industrial and infrastructure sectors.
“There are two Malaysian investors involved in conducting a ‘feasibility study’ to build in IKN,” said Dato’ Syed.