Minister Reveals Indonesian Digital Economy Potential to Nikkei Officials

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto explained to the head of Nikkei Inc. Daisuke Arakawa about Indonesia's stable economic condition despite powerful global shocks.

It was recorded that Indonesia's economic growth in the first quarter of 2024 was recorded at 5.11 percent year-on-year (yoy) with the inflation rate in April 2024 and maintained within the target range of 3.00 percent (yoy).

“Indonesia is in the top five of the best G20 countries with economic growth in the range of 5 percent and also in the top five countries with the lowest inflation, so we are quite confident in our ability to maintain this condition,” the minister said when receiving Arakawa's honorary visit at the Main Building of the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Japan, in a series of The 29th Nikkei Forum Future Asia, on Friday.

On the occasion, the minister also said that Indonesia's digital economy currently reaches a value of USD90 billion and by 2025 is expected to reach USD130 billion.

This is also in line with the potential increase in the digital economy in the ASEAN region with a population of around 600 million.

With the implementation of the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), the value of the digital economy in the ASEAN region in 2030, which was originally estimated by various study institutions to reach USD 1 trillion, will increase to USD 2 trillion.

In addition to the issue of cybersecurity in the use of digital technology, the Minister also revealed that the availability of digital infrastructure is also one of the issues in increasing the availability of internet networks.

“I see the issue of cybersecurity will always be a problem in the digital economy. With the characteristics of an archipelago, Indonesia cannot only rely on fiber optic as a solution to provide internet networks throughout Indonesia,” the Minister concluded.