VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Thursday that he would welcome investment in the new Indonesian capital (IKN) Nusantara from one of Elon Musk's companies.

He conveyed this during a discussion at the 2023 Mandiri Investment Forum's (MIF's) “Morning Talk” in Jakarta.

During the session, one of the representatives of the US-ASEAN Business Council, Taufikurrahman, pointed out that one of Musk's companies intends to enter IKN to support Nusantara's smart city vision.

"This may provide major technological assistance to IKN and also to Indonesia as a whole. We request for assistance in the licensing process," he added.

Taufikurrahman said the company is in the licensing process, though it has run into technical problems.

In response to the request, Lahadalia assured that his ministry will provide assistance to the company without delay and expedite the licensing process.

He sought a list of the problems that the company is facing and details on how much it wants to invest and in which sectors.

"As long as they truly want to invest, and the domain is under the Investment Ministry and other ministries, we will expedite it. I will expedite it. That is my promise," he said.

The minister then underlined his commitment to helping investors who are willing to park their capital in Indonesia.

Lahadalia said that his ministry will not block investments coming to Indonesia.

"This is because, in my opinion, blocking investors, blocking investments, is similar to blocking potential job creation, blocking state income, and our competitiveness will be disrupted," he explained.

During the same discussion, IKN Authority head Bambang Susantono said that his side is ready to facilitate investment from Musk's company.

There have been many investment proposals seeking to support connectivity in IKN, he said.

However, he said that he has not seen the proposal from Musk's company. (Antaranews)