Indonesia, Singapore deepen SEZ and digital investment cooperation
Thursday, June 11 2026 - 09:36 AM WIB
By Romel S. Gurky
Indonesia and Singapore reaffirmed their commitment to deepen economic cooperation through special economic zones (SEZs), digital infrastructure and industrial investment at a bilateral ministerial meeting this week, Indonesian officials said.
The 16th Ministerial Meeting of the Six Working Groups on Indonesia-Singapore Bilateral Economic Cooperation was co-chaired on Tuesday by Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Gan Kim Yong in Jakarta.
The two sides reviewed cooperation across six working groups covering the Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK) region and SEZs, investment, transportation, agribusiness, tourism and manpower.
Airlangga said investment in the BBK region reached $5.7 billion in 2025, rising from the previous year, and highlighted the expansion of the Nongsa Digital Park and the Kendal Industrial Park as key projects in bilateral cooperation.
"Nongsa Digital Park will continue to be developed to support the expansion of the digital economy, while investment in the Kendal SEZ will be expanded through the addition of 1,000 hectares of land," Airlangga said in a statement.
Officials from both countries said the BBK region was becoming an increasingly important hub for data centres and digital infrastructure, supported by a submarine cable link between Singapore and Batam.
Data centre operators investing in Batam include DayOne, Golden Digital Gateway, BW Digital, Princeton Digital Group, Racks Central and DCI Indonesia.
Airlangga said Indonesia was focusing on ensuring land availability, green energy supply and regulatory certainty on data protection and cross-border data flows to support further investment.
Gan said Singapore remained committed to investing in Indonesia, with Singaporean foreign direct investment in Indonesia reaching about $17.4 billion in 2025.
"Singapore remains committed to being a valuable and trusted partner for Indonesia," he said.
The two governments also agreed to prepare a BBK technology sector study as a key deliverable for 2026 cooperation, aimed at supporting the development of digital SEZs and strengthening regional digital connectivity.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak