Finnish firms eye Indonesian market potential

Finland is interested to support the efforts of Finnish companies to help Indonesia emerge as an economic super power.

“The Indonesian market will offer Finnish companies major potential for exports and cooperation well into the future. I wish to support the efforts of our companies in Indonesia, which is predicted to emerge as a third economic superpower besides China and India,” said Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen before her visit to Indonesia.

Virolainen will visit Jakarta in Indonesia with a Team Finland trade delegation from October 8 to October 11, said a government press release.

She is returning the visit of Indonesian Minister of Energy Ignasius Jonan to Finland in May 2018 as part of an exchange of visits based on an energy sector memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries.

The themes of the visit will be energy, waste management, logistics, infrastructure, and the digital transition of industries.

Indonesia is Finland’s largest export country in Southeast Asia. In 2017, Finnish exports to Indonesia grew by 63 per cent, while imports went up by 33 per cent. The trade volume exceeded EUR 400 million. Indonesia’s large-scale infrastructure and energy investments will provide attractive business opportunities for Finnish companies.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government’s new industrial digitalisation programme is adding another interesting dimension to the cooperation.

During her trip, Virolainen, together with Finnish business representatives, will meet Indonesian Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan, Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita, Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Rini Soemarnonja, Minister of National Development Planning Bambang Brodjonegoro, and Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedani.

Virolainen will also attend the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Valmet and Indonesia’s state-owned energy company.

Discussions on a new investment credit instrument, the Public Sector Investment Facility, which Finland has offered as a new funding instrument for bilateral trade, will also be part of the mission. In addition, Finland’s planned trade policy instruments for promoting circular economy will be discussed.

Virolainen will further attend a lunch for woman executives hosted by Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice Chairperson Shinta Kamdani where she will talk about the Finnish Chambers of Commerce’s internationally acknowledged programme for promoting woman executives and the role of woman executives in Finnish business life.