IAF 2024-HSL MSP: Reached an Energy and Alternative Business Sector Investments

BALI, BTNp; INDONESIA successfully reached an investment agreement totalling US$1.5 billion in the energy sector at the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF), held in Bali from 1 to 3 September 2024.

Dewi Justicia Meidiwaty, Director for African Affairs, Directorate General of Asia-Pacific and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made the statement in Nusa Dua, Bali.

“This is certainly a promising achievement from the 2024 IAF deliverables agreement target worth a total of US$3.5 billion,” said Meidiwaty.

The Director for African Affairs explained that one of the agreements reached is a training contract between PT Pertamina Training & Consulting (PTC) and Petrofound Namibia, which will take place at Indonesia’s Integrated Drilling Training Center (IDTC). With Tanzania, PT Pertamina has secured a 60% stake redistribution in Wentworth Resources’ Mnazi Bay gas block.

The State Electricity Company (PT PLN) has also collaborated on geothermal energy development with Tanesco and Tanzania Geothermal Development Company (TGDC), targeting a 225 MW development in Natron, Luhoi, and Ngozi.

“Tanesco has also visited PT PLN to further explore potential geothermal energy development in Indonesia,” said Meidiwaty.

Various agreements between Indonesia and Tanzania are also a follow-up to the Indonesian President’s visit to Tanzania from 21 to 22 August 2023, which resulted in several cooperation commitments, particularly in the energy sector.

Director Meidiwaty mentioned that in addition to agreements between Indonesia and African countries, the 2nd IAF also serves as a forum facilitating agreements among African countries.

“One such agreement is the cooperation between Mozambique and South Africa through a Memorandum of Understanding between Buzi Hydrocarbon Pte Ltd and Guma Africa Group Ltd. regarding the exploration and commercialization of Buzi EPCC gas,” she added.

In addition to state-owned enterprises, the private sector also achieved significant investment values in Africa, including PT Energi Mega Persada (EMP) with Vutomi Energy through a commercial partnership for a 500 megawatts Independent Power Plant (IPP).

These energy sector agreements further strengthen Indonesia-Africa cooperation in securing supply and energy resilience amid uncertain global geopolitical conditions.

“Energy resilience is crucial for stability and economic development, especially for Indonesia and Africa,” said Director Meidiwaty.

Alternative Business Sector

On the other hand, Indonesia reached an investment agreement in the alternative business sector worth approximately US$1.26 billion at the High-Level Forum on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (HLF MSP) and the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) Joint Leaders Session 2024.

Realizing the potential for quite a large investment value opens up more opportunities for Indonesian industry players to expand their market to Africa.

“One of these potential sectors is the cosmetics business. For instance, an Indonesian company, PT Tirta Ayu, has succeeded in exploring market expansion to Zimbabwe by opening a franchise, which will be agreed upon soon,” said Meidiwaty.

In addition to Zimbabwe, PT Tirta Ayu planned to build a cosmetics factory in Eswatini. The manufacturing, textile, chemical, and footwear sectors dominate Indonesia’s exports to Eswatini. Expanding Indonesian companies into the cosmetics sector will further diversify the country’s product market.

Four Tanzanian companies, PT Essa Industries, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), Tanzania Fertilizer Regulatory Authority (TFRA), and Tanzania Investment Center (TIC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indonesia to build a natural gas processing plant into ammonia/fertilizer.

“It is in line with both countries’ efforts to support food security in the future,” said Director Meidiwaty.

Nigeria is also the target of Indonesian businessmen in the food technology sector, including PT Saputra Global Harvest, which will sell coal-fired fertilizer production equipment.

Cosmetics, fertilizers, and agricultural technology, an Indonesian company, PT Investasi Cemindo Gemilang, has acquired the Alpha Ciment SA, a cement factory in Madagascar, through a partnership with Gamma Civic of Mauritius.

Through the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum, the achievement of various business agreements is expected to continue to be a frontrunner and provide legal certainty for business actors from Indonesia and Africa to expand their businesses in both regions.

With these cooperation commitments in place, it is hoped that they will further strengthen the relationship between Indonesia and Africa towards a shared future in line with Indonesia’s Vision 2045 and Africa’s Agenda 2063.  *BTNewspaper/Kemlu