Indonesian Economy Shows Resilience Amid Global Challenges

Jakarta, INTI – Despite facing global economic stagnation and financial market volatility, the Indonesian economy has demonstrated resilience in weathering the storm, with an impressive growth achievement of 5.05% (yoy) in 2023 and maintaining solid growth at 5.11% (yoy) in the first quarter of 2024. This national economic growth even surpassed the estimates of several international institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.

Alongside the resilience of the national economy, Indonesia's bilateral cooperation with several countries continues to strengthen, notably with South Korea. The total value of bilateral trade between Indonesia and South Korea reached USD 20.8 billion in 2023. Furthermore, South Korea also emerged as one of Indonesia's largest investors in 2023, with total Foreign Direct Investment amounting to approximately USD 2.5 billion. This investment figure marked an increase of USD 200 million, or 8.70%, from 2022.

As part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and South Korea, during a working visit to South Korea, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto met with CEO of LG CNS, Shingyoon Hyun, in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday (20/05). During the meeting, Minister Airlangga expressed appreciation to LG CNS for signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Sinar Mas Group for the establishment of a Joint Venture (JV) PMA in the field of data center management consulting services and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), targeted to be completed in the second half of 2024.

"We hope that South Korea can increase its investments in various fields, including technology development, as well as for the improvement of its human resources through technology training, of course," expressed Minister Airlangga.

The JV will target ICT services in smart city development, including cloud-based data migration consulting services. Furthermore, Minister Airlangga hopes that LG CNS can uphold and realize its commitment to establish this data center JV by the second half of 2024.

Furthermore, Minister Airlangga also appreciated LG CNS's commitment to supporting smart city development in Indonesia. Additionally, LG CNS has been involved in designing the Smart City Concept for the Indonesian Capital City (IKN) since December 2022. This project aims to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI), data, and cloud technology into smart services for IKN. Moving forward, LG CNS is expected to expand its investment into Indonesia and create sustainable businesses, developing the Indonesian economy through the establishment of cutting-edge technology platforms.