Chinese investments in Indonesia's manufacturing sector have shown consistent recent growth with more to come, Donny Donosepoetro, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank in Indonesia, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) in a recent interview.
Donosepoetro said his bank was among the institutions facilitating this growth in foreign direct investments (FDI), and said future trade and investment trends between the two countries looked promising.
"We are well placed to help our China investors coming into Indonesia in navigating the local landscape, if you will. So what we have also is our structuring product capabilities. We facilitate transactions, RMB like financing, project finance, and the advisory capability that we have for our global China clients [and] investors who are coming into Indonesia," he said.
"If you look at the data in 2024, China's FDI into Indonesia on manufacturing has more than doubled. Going forward, this trend will continue to accelerate further. And we see that role in ASEAN, China is already having one third of all the manufacturing related FDI in southeast Asia. Now with Indonesia, because of population actually is quite big, so there's a lot of labor actually with that, it suits actually to do manufacturing base. And if you combine it with the availability of the different natural resources that Indonesia does have, it does make sense actually for that production diversification from a geographical perspective, from Chinese companies into Indonesia," he said.
In the interview, Donosepoetro said that China will play a critical role in developing the booming digital economy across Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia.
"On digitalization, I just wanted to add, I think ASEAN digital economy is really booming. It's expected to reach 300 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of economic value by this year. Indonesia, along with a few other countries in ASEAN, have been leading the way, given the mass population, sort of from that perspective and young and growing middle class. You'll see that penetration of mobile is accelerating. The innovation on fin-tech and payments are really there and the associated digital infrastructure, such as data centers and all of the others. China's leading capability in super apps and in payment. And digital logistics would really enable China to play a catalytic role in that digital economy in ASEAN, as well as in Indonesia," he said.
Chinese investment in Indonesian manufacturing surges: StanChart Indonesia CEO
The Iranian government is focusing on public concerns and maintaining stable supplies of essential goods amid recent protests, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview on Sunday.
In the city of Karaj, northwest of the capital Tehran, daily life has largely continued as normal. A video filmed by a local resident on Sunday shows food stores open and grocery shelves fully stocked.
"This is the block near my home, and there are some food stores here. Daily life continues here. Last night we did not see many protests in Karaj. Right now the city is very safe. This is a grocery store close to my home. All the food is available; nothing is in shortage. Here are noodles and different types of beans. Here are dairy products, cheese, and yogurt. I also checked other grocery stores and didn't see any shortages. Everything is available," said local resident Ali Reza.
Iranian officials have described recent disturbances as acts orchestrated by the "enemy," including some carried out by well-trained and armed "terrorists." The incidents have caused casualties among security personnel and civilians, as well as property damage.
The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani has directed authorities to severely punish the "terrorists."
Meanwhile, Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said on Sunday that the police had raised alert levels and arrested several leaders of the troublemakers during the operations on Saturday.
President Pezeshkian noted in the interview that the normal demands of the Iranian people are reasonable and justified, but they must realize that triggering riots and carrying out terrorist acts are the enemy's attempts to undermine the country. He urged the public to remain vigilant.
Also on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that Tehran would regard U.S. and Israeli bases and facilities in the Middle East as "legitimate targets" if Washington takes military action against Iran. His remarks followed media reports saying U.S. President Donald Trump is "seriously considering authorizing a strike" against Iran.
Iranian state media reported that at least 109 members of Iran's security forces have been killed in clashes since the protests began 14 days ago. Meanwhile, human rights groups based outside the country said the number of protesters killed has exceeded 200, though the figure could not be independently verified.
The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and sanctions imposed by the United States.
Iranian president says government focusing on ensuring supplies amid protests
