Remarks by President Halimah at Reception with Singapore and Indonesian Business Representatives

Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth

Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good evening. Let me begin by thanking all the business leaders, from both Singapore and Indonesia, for taking the time to be here today. I am also grateful to the Singapore Business Federation and Enterprise Singapore for working together to arrange for a business delegation from Singapore in conjunction with this State Visit. The presence of all of you here today is a reflection of the strong ties between the business and corporate communities from Singapore and Indonesia.

This State Visit is the latest milestone in the history of the excellent ties between Singapore and Indonesia. Ours is a multi-faceted and deep relationship, spanning various spheres such as economic, cultural, security and people-to-people links. In particular, our economic ties are a key pillar of bilateral relations. As close neighbours, Singapore and Indonesia are natural economic partners. We have traded with each other for centuries; and today, our economic strengths continue to complement each other.

The numbers speak for themselves. Singapore has been Indonesia’s top investor since 2014, with realised investment valued at US$6.5 billion in 2019. Singapore is Indonesia’s third largest trading partner, while Indonesia is Singapore’s sixth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade having increased 9.4 percent year-on-year to reach S$65 billion in 2018. Financial cooperation between our two countries is also robust. In 2018, Bank Indonesia, or BI, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore established a US$10 billion bilateral financial arrangement which comprises a local currency bilateral swap agreement and a bilateral US Dollar repurchase agreement. At the request of BI, this bilateral financial agreement was renewed for another year in November last year.

These economic figures and data show that Singapore is very much invested in Indonesia’s success. We believe that a growing, stable and prosperous Indonesia is good for Singapore and our wider region. Singapore appreciates the size and diversity of Indonesia and is keen to look beyond merely Jakarta for economic opportunities. Our flagship collaborative projects such as the Kendal Industrial Park in Central Java and the Nongsa Digital Park in Batam show clearly that Singapore’s economic engagement in Indonesia is broad-based across various sectors and regions. Beyond the presence of larger Singapore enterprises in the infrastructure and industrial sectors, Singapore’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are also making headway in other sectors, such as consumer, Industry 4.0 and financial technology, through partnerships with Indonesian companies. Singapore companies such as Love Bonito –a retail outlet, Salad Stop – a foodservice, Auk Industries – an Industry4.0 company, and V-Key – a financial technology firm are good examples of SMEs that are doing well in Indonesia as a result of solid partnerships with Indonesian companies. I encourage and look forward to more of such fruitful business-to-business collaborations between businessmen from both sides.

Indonesia’s economic potential is bright. You enjoy a large market of almost 270 million people, a youthful population and a strong vision to become an economic powerhouse. In this regard, I had a very fruitful discussion with President Joko Widodo earlier today on how Singapore and Indonesia can realise new areas of economic cooperation as both countries seek to further develop our economies. Singapore is happy to work together with Indonesia on some of President Jokowi’s priority areas such as human capital development, increasing investments, and infrastructure development. To that end, the early ratification of the Bilateral Investment Treaty and the updated Singapore-Indonesia Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement, which was signed earlier today, will enhance bilateral trade and investments and further strengthen the strong economic cooperation between the two countries. We should also continue to explore new avenues of collaboration such as the development of agri-technology, digital economy and the joint development of tourism and energy-related infrastructure.   

Ladies and Gentlemen

The spread of the Novel Coronavirus is the latest challenge to the global economic situation. For businesses, it has been a difficult start to the year. However, we have reason to continue to be optimistic in the long term future of our region. With a 620 million-strong market and a combined GDP of US$2.95 trillion, Southeast Asia remains a bright spark and an engine for growth. When Singapore and Indonesia work together, we can harness the complementary strengths of our economies to open up new opportunities for the mutual benefit of both countries and the region.

I encourage Singapore and Indonesian business leaders to continue to strengthen your networks and explore new areas of collaboration. Today’s gathering shows that we have a solid foundation to work on. I look forward to meeting you and hearing from you over the course of this evening.

Thank you.