2017: Danish Investment in Indonesia Soars by 1300 Percent

President Joko Widodo today, Tuesday (November 28th), received Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen at the Bogor Palace. Rasmussen's visit to Indonesia from November 27th to 29th, 2017, focused on political cooperation, investment, and trade. Danish investors' interest in the renewable energy sector has led to a more than thousand percent surge in investment from the Scandinavian country this year. Two wind power plants have already been built in Jeneponto and Sidrap, South Sulawesi.

Data from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) shows that Danish foreign investment in Indonesia from January to September 2017 surged by 1,334 percent to US$10.9 million, compared to US$760,000 during the same period the previous year. The number of projects also increased to 34 units from 31 units during the same period the previous year. The increase in foreign investment from Denmark is partly due to the visit of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark to Indonesia in October 2015, which brought a delegation and business leaders.

However, the value of Indonesia's trade with Denmark has shown a downward trend from 2012 to 2016. In the January-September 2017 period, the value of trade between the two countries, recorded by the Ministry of Trade, only increased slightly by 0.36 percent to US$229.54 million from US$228.72 million during the same period the previous year. Indonesia's exports to Denmark reached US$127.03 million, while imports from Denmark amounted to US$102.51 million.