Indonesia Permanent Virtual Exhibition and Business Directory

Straddling the equator between Asia and Australia, Indonesia is as wide as the USA from New York to San Francisco. The country has a population of more than 215 million people from more than 200 million ethnic groups.

Jakarta, the capital, located on the northern coast of western Java, is also the country’s business and financial center and home to more than nine million people. Bahasa Indonesia is the national language.

Agriculture still contributes almost 15% of GDP, particularly beef, cassava (tapioca), cocoa, coffee, copra, eggs, palm oil, peanuts, pork and rice.

In addition to tourism, other significant industries include apparel and footwear, cement, chemical fertilizers, mining, petroleum and natural gas, plywood and rubber. Thanks to Indonesian companies in these industries, GDP grew 6% in 2010.

Doing Business in Indonesia

Indonesia is made up of the islands of the former Dutch East Indies, a colony established by the Netherlands to control the important spice trade and take advantage of the fertile tropical soil. Indonesia's first 15 years after gaining independence in 1949 were marked by high inflation and very little development beyond the economy inherited from the colonial system, which was heavily dependent on agriculture. Read Full Article

Investing in Indonesia

Indonesia is a market-based economy but the government plays a significant role in the country’s economy with 160 government-owned enterprises. Indonesia’s GDP per capita ranks fifth after Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand. The Asian economic crisis of 1997 adversely affected the country economy and businesses and caused spiralling prices of necessities resulting in social unrest. Future prospects of Indonesia’s economy are bright with economic structural reforms in placed since the Asian economic crisis. Read Full Article