Indonesia’s economy tipped to gain from deeper mainland China, Hong Kong ties

Indonesia’s economy stands to gain from its partnership with mainland China and Hong Kong through increased investments and lessons learned from improving capital markets, industry insiders and observers have said.Shinta Kamdani, coordinating vice-chairwoman for human development, culture and sustainable development at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), on Tuesday pointed to financial hub Hong Kong as being able to provide Indonesia access to the sprawling mainland Chinese market, as well as business connections.“Indonesia, as you know, we have many opportunities to lure more investors, when we talk about our downstreaming, renewable energy, our infrastructure … We know we are opening our shop,” Kamdani said at a press briefing at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026, held in Jakarta.“It’s now our homework to make sure we have a conducive and competitive investment climate,” she added.The forum was a partnership between the SCMP and Kadin, with about 500 people in attendance, half of them from overseas, including Hong Kong, mainland China and Southeast Asia. About 30 Chinese companies were also present.(From left) Chow Chung-yan, editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post; Tammy Tam, SCMP publisher; Shinta Kamdani, coordinating vice-chairwoman at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin); and Steven Marcelino, managing partner of Equatorise Advisory.Photo: SCMPAt the presser, SCMP publisher Tammy Tam also said Indonesia and Southeast Asia were a “natural choice” for Chinese companies seeking to expand globally, hailing the “great potential” of the Indonesian market, and citing its young population as well as an ambitious goal of achieving 8 per cent economic growth.