Indonesia’s foreign direct investment (FDI) surged 44.2 per cent on a yearly basis in 2022, with the base metal and mining sectors getting the biggest inflows, investment ministry data showed on Tuesday (Jan 24).

Indonesia received 654.4 trillion rupiah (S$57.8 billion) worth of FDI last year, or equivalent to US$45.6 billion in the ministry’s official calculation, which assumes an exchange rate of 14,350 rupiah to the US dollar.

The data excludes investment in the banking and oil and gas sectors.

The resource-rich country has been trying to capitalise on its abundant nickel reserves to develop battery and electric vehicle industries at home.

Once a major exporter of nickel ore, it stopped outbound shipments of the raw material in 2020 to make sure investors have enough for domestic processing.

FDI in base metal reached US$11 billion last year, the biggest recipient of foreign investment. The mining industry came second with US$5.1 billion.

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The biggest sources were Singapore, China and Hong Kong.

Total investment, including from domestic sources, reached 1,207.2 trillion rupiah, the ministry said, roughly in line with the government’s target.

FDI in the final quarter of last year was up 43.3 per cent on an annual basis, amounting to 175.2 trillion rupiah in rupiah terms. Reuters