Jokowi roots for private investment as freeport row lingers

Bloomberg

Indonesia will turn to private investors for the hundreds of billions of dollars in investment needed to develop the archipelago’s infrastructure and
natural resources, President Joko Widodo said, brushing off claims he was increasingly becoming an economic nationalist.
All major projects will be offered to the private sector, Widodo, also known as Jokowi, told Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin in an interview. Government companies would partner with private investors only if there wasn’t enough
interest among such players, with funding from the national budget the last resort, he said.
Halfway through his term in office, Jokowi is seeking to balance the need for more foreign investment with pressures at home to keep the economy, especially its mineral resources, in local hands. A dispute between the government and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. over the transfer of majority ownership of the US miner’s Indonesian unit demonstrates that challenge, while also stoking concern that investors may turn their back on the country.
“Is Indonesia a protectionist? No. We are open for investors,” Jokowi said in the interview. “We have cut the negative list to allow more foreign investors. It shows that Indonesia is open.”
Jokowi has attempted to wean the country off commodities and push investment in value-added manufacturing and services to emulate the success of countries like South Korea. He wants mining companies to build smelters rather than export commodities, and divest majority stakes in businesses. He said the government isn’t done with reforms yet and will review labour laws.