by Bambang Purwanto

JAKARTA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The government-owned Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) which was set up in January 2021 was believed to win trusts from both domestic and foreign investors to finance developments especially in the field of infrastructure in the country.

According to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, there are three reasons behind this belief.

First, the establishment of INA has a strong legal basis, namely the job creation law which was formed to create jobs and increase foreign and domestic investment by reducing regulatory requirements for business permits and land acquisition.

"The institution and how it works are also clear as regulated in the government regulation number 74 of 2020," the president said when introducing the members of INA's supervisory board and its board of directors at the state palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Second, INA is guaranteed to be a professional institution protected by law and uses professional considerations in determining its works, and third, it is managed by the best professionals who have international experiences, and head hunters.

"With a strong legal foundation and political support as well as a great supervisory board and a board of directors and a strong international network, I believe that the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) will gain national and international trusts and be able to be a world-class Sovereign Wealth Fund," Widodo said.

The president further said that INA has a very strategic position in accelerating sustainable development, increasing and optimizing the value of state assets in the long term, and providing alternative financing for national sustainable developments.

"Through the existence of INA, we will reduce the gap between domestic funding capacity and development financing needs. INA will be a strategic partner for investors, both from within the country and from abroad, so that sufficient financing is available for development programs, particularly national infrastructure development programs," he said.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who also serves as the chairperson of INA's supervisory board, said there has been a state equity as an initial capital for this investment institution.

"Based on Government Regulation Number 74 of 2020 regarding INA's initial capital, we have included 15 trillion rupiahs (some 1.06 billion U.S. dollars) in the 2020 state equity participation, and for the 2021 budget year, 15 trillion rupiahs will also be reserved," she told a press conference at the presidential office in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Indrawati said Government Regulation Number 74 of 2020 mandates that INA's capital will reach 75 trillion rupiahs (some 5.3 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2021 in stages. INA will receive 45 trillion rupiahs (3.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the form of share transfer this year.

According to her, there have been quite a number of fund managers who expressed their interests in INA, even before its board of directors was formed.

CEO of INA's board of directors Ridha Wirakusumah emphasized that he and his team would work professionally and with the highest integrity and good governance.

Wirakusumah also said that he would strive to create a comfortable and convincing investment climate to attract investors to participate in development programs in Indonesia.

INA will also strive to increase and optimize the values of investments which are managed for the long term in order to support sustainable developments, he told a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Furthermore, he emphasized that the funds to be managed are not loans but capital or investment which has added values, and the funds should be taken from sources with good and clean governance.

He added that all the funds that will be entrusted to INA are expected to continue to grow so that they become endowment funds for the prosperity of the next generation.

Wirakusumah emphasized that he would continue the steps that have been implemented and see development projects that have the potential to attract investors. Enditem

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