Fajarasia.co – The Minister of Communication and Information (Menkominfo) of the Republic of Indonesia, Johhny G Plate, revealed that the potential of Indonesia’s digital economy in 2025 will reach USD140 billion.
He said this was as projected by the world’s largest digital company, Google.
“Google has high enough attention because the digital development of the Indonesian economy during Covid-19 grew positively, in 2021 the digital economy will be double digits and in 2022 the first quarter will grow by 7 percent,” he said, in a bilateral meeting with Google Asia Pacific President Scoot Beamount on on the sidelines of the World Economy Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Monday (23/5/2022).
This projection can be achieved if Indonesia is able to take advantage of the digital space and avoid the misuse of information technology. The development of the digital economy is one of the main strategies for Indonesia’s economic transformation and is aimed at accelerating economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. The development of the digital economy is also driven by a shift in people’s behavior that tends to use digital platforms in various sectors.
According to Johnny, the bilateral meeting was held to follow up on the cooperation between the Indonesian government and Google regarding the digital ecosystem to make it more beneficial for the community. The collaborations that have been carried out include, among others, human resource development programs, utilizing digital systems, and overcoming hoax information.
“By expanding the infrastructure network and strengthening human resources, the digital economy opportunities will be more beneficial,” he said.
The positive trend of the development of the digital economy is also in line with the development of investment. The results of a study by Google, Temasek, Bain & Company (2021) show that the investment value of Indonesia’s digital economy during the first quarter of 2021 was USD4.7 billion, and has exceeded the highest value for the last four years. This achievement makes Indonesia the most popular investment destination in Southeast Asia, surpassing Singapore.
During his visit to Davos, Switzerland, apart from holding a bilateral meeting with Google Asia Pacific President Scott Beaumont, the Minister of Communication and Information also met several high-ranking officials from other digital platform companies.
These include Qualcomm President, Traveloka President Caesar Indra, Traveloka General Counsel and Public Policy Advisor Dimas Nandaraditya, and VP of Public Policy, Gov. Relations and Sustainability Traveloka Widya Listyowulan.****
