In the latest clip from Borderless News Online’s broad ranging interview, Indonesian Tech Minister Rudiantara discusses the myriad opportunities for foreign investors in Indonesia — a country whose digital economy has massive potential.
The minister has in the past said that Silicon Valley should contribute more to Indonesia’s blossoming digital economy, and discusses what the tech giant is doing now in Indonesia, a country with a massive market for online products.
With a 250 million strong population, Indonesia is crazy about social media, and the capital Jakarta sends out more Tweets than any city in the world.
The government is pushing for more foreign investment in the digital economy, and Rudiantara said he believes there will be two more unicorns this year – startups valued at $1 billion or over.
Recently, the country opened up the Internet industry to allow foreign investment, which was previously restricted under the so-called negative investment list amid a climate of economic nationalism in the country.
“We are opening up our investment climate to allow the foreign investors, the VCs (venture capitalists)…to invest directly in Indonesia,” he said, referring to recent a decision the government made to allow more foreign investment in the tech sector.
He added that games, apps and on online transportation apps are the “future of our digital space in Indonesia,” he said, but added that “we have also to comply with the local regulations.”
Still, critics said that there is a significant lag between rapidly-moving technology and government policy, with the latter always striving to catch up. Some tech industry insiders have said the country needs to improve its policies regarding the digital economy.
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