Remarks by H.E. Mr. Djauhari Oratmangun

Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the People's Republic of China

At the 2019 Roundtable Forum for Dialogue betweenChinese Entrepreneurs and Diplomatic Envoys

Beijing, 23 November 2019

I am honored to have the opportunity to deliver this remarks at the 2019 Roundtable Forum for Dialogue between Chinese Entrepreneurs and Diplomatic Envoys.

I personally would like to thank the Public Diplomacy & Culture Exchange Center and the China Association for Small and Medium Commercial Enterprises for the invitation extended to the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing to join today's important event.

Today's event is timely in bringing together diplomatic envoys in China and Chinese entrepreneurs to further discuss and promote economic and trade cooperation.

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world, comprising of morethan 17 ,000 islands. With over two-thirds of its territory being sea area, Indonesia lies on the most strategic shipping routes.

This is one of the reasons why Indonesia has a Global Maritime Fulcrum Visionthat is synergized with China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Indonesia's economy is developing rapidly, whereas now has reached more than1 trilioio Gross Domestic Product (GDP), putting Indonesia number 16 in terms ofnominal and number 7 in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

Distinguished Participants,Ladies and Gentlemen,

Right now, China is the main trading partner of Indonesia with trade volume reaching 77.36 billion US Dollar in 2018. Indonesia's potential products for Chinainclude tropical fruits, palm oil, food products, fisheries, forest products andothers.

In terms of investment, China is Indonesia's 3rd largest investment realization source in 2018, in which the 1st and 2nd being Singapore and Japanrespectively. 55% of China's investment is realized on secondary sectors (manufacturing and processed goods), 41 % on tertiary sectars (services) and 4% on primary sectors (natural resources extraction).

It is no wonder that Indonesia and China's relationship today is very important. Experts and international organizations predict that in 2030, Indonesia will become the 7th largest economy in the world, and even forecasted to be the 4th in 2045. Meanwhile, China is already on its way to become the largest economy in the world.

One of the capitalists in Venture Beat once compared that investing in Indonesia today is similar to investing in China in 2008. And to this I can say that Indonesiahas all the necessary ingredients to make a profitable investment.

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, Indonesia is home for 266 mllion people, of which more than 70% are currently in their productive age. This means Indonesia is now gearing up itsindustry using its demographic bonus.

What is more interesting, Indonesia also has 63.5 milion millennials, the prime digital citizens of Indonesia. 55.4% of these milleials are aspiring to become entrepreneurs.

If you add these statistics with 143 million internet users in Indonesia, you will see that Indonesia's economy will be driven by young people and digital economy in acouple years ahead.

It is no wonder that Indonesia now has 5 unicorns and one of which has gainedthe status of decacorn, a company with valuation of 10 billion US dollars and above.

By 2025, the Indonesia's digital economy size is expected to reach 100 bllion US Dollars, the largest of the total 240 bllion US Dollars of Southeast Asia digital economy.

Forbes, in their article, stated that Indonesia has become the frontrunner of economic transformation driven by the mobile economy with a huge population of young and mobile savvy digital natives. They named Indonesia: The New Tiger of Southeast Asia.

In light of this, the Indonesian Government is also encouraging SMEs and start-up companies in Indonesia to seize the opportunity of the ongoing rapid development of technology. Digital economy today plays an important role in theeconomic development of Indonesia, so we believe that all relevant stakeholders need to always be actively involved with the development of the digital economy.

Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is difficlt to find new source of economic growth and places to do business in today's situation where there is uncertainty to the global economy andinternational trade.

It is projected that the global economy will suffer slowdown in a the next year. Several countries have revised their economic growth target and it has caused fear among investors and consumers to be involved in economic activities.

But I can guarantee you that Indonesia remains optimistic even in this situation. Many experts have stated that Indonesia will be one of the countries that still haspositive growth amidst global recession. Indonesia is among the three countrieswith positive growth when 2008 crisis hit along with China and India.

This optimism is not an overstatement because the Government of Indonesia is preparing a sound economic policy to weather this situation. This is not only limited to macroeconomic and financial policy, but also investment policy.

Finally, alow me to close this remarks by giving you asurance that the Indonesian Embassy in Bejjing is commited to give support and help any Chinese entrepreneurs willing to be part of Indonesia's growth in the nextindustrial revolution.

Thank you, Xie Xie!