UAE to invest $22.8bn in Indonesia via sovereign wealth fund

The United Arab Emirates will invest $22.8bn in Indonesia through a sovereign wealth fund being set up by President Joko Widodo as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to finance billions of dollars of infrastructure and energy projects.

The UAE plans to invest in building Indonesia’s new capital and also develop properties in Aceh province, the cabinet secretariat said in a statement, citing Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan.

The investment agreements also covering sectors from energy and telecommunications were signed during Widodo’s visit to Abu Dhabi where the Indonesian president also met Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Arab economy joins SoftBank Group. and the US International Development Finance Corp. as investors keen to participate in the sovereign fund that will fund toll roads, ports and petrochemical projects in Indonesia.

Widodo, also known as Jokowi, who is into his second and final term, has pledged to double down on an ambitious infrastructure building program that will require more than $400bn in the next five years to modernise the archipelago of more than 260 million people.

Jokowi’s visit also saw 16 agreements being signed between the two countries, including 11 business deals in the areas of oil and gas, petrochemicals, ports and telecommunications. The Indonesian president also invited the crown prince to join the steering board to build Indonesia’s new capital, according to the statement.

The bilateral relations between the two countries could be further strengthened, Jokowi’s office cited the crown prince as saying in a statement. “We can start a new era of closer relations between the two countries,” he said.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Mubadala Investment were among the UAE companies which signed agreements with Indonesian firms last year to explore investment opportunities from sectors ranging from oil and gas, ports and tourism.