EKONID ANNUAL REPORT 2018|
3
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
AND THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
Dear EKONID Members,
I
n 2018 the Indonesian economy continued its stable Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 5.17% (y-o-y) to
reach almost IDR 15 trillion, equivalent to USD 3,900 in GDP per capita. Total investments reached IDR 721 trillion
(+4.1%), with domestic investments (DDI) growing strongly by more than 25% to IDR 329 trillion, while foreign direct
investments (FDI) fell by 8.8% to IDR 393 trillion. Total trade volume increased to USD 369 billion, with goods and services
exported reaching USD 180 billion and imports USD 189 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of about USD
9 billion for the year.
Overall one might call Indonesia’s economic development in 2018 solid in comparison with countries of similar
size and stage of development, but certainly not spectacular and probably below the expectations of the government.
Increasing geopolitical trade tensions and, domestically, a slow down of the reform process combined with a wait-and-
see attitude in connection with the upcoming elections might serve as explanations.
For EKONID the situation was very much reversed; we had one of our busiest years ever, answering 937 individual
German corporate inquiries (+30%), organizing 173 events, 49 of them outside of Indonesia, and supporting six German,
two pan-European and one delegation each from The Netherlands, Ireland and Australia.
And then there was APK, the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business, which took place from November 1 to 3
in Jakarta. In 2018, EKONID hosted the conference, which is organized every two years by the Asia Pacific Committee of
German Business (APA), the Ministry of Economics and the Network of German Chambers Abroad (AHK). Over 1,000 high
level participants from 27 countries listened to 95 experts, politicians and industry leaders who shared their views and
expertise regarding technological, political and economic trends and developments. For EKONID, that meant two years
of preparation work, an almost two million Euro budget to be acquired, as well as more than 900 technicians, artists and
support staff to be organized for this extraordinary two-day event. More details on all of these activities can be found in
this annual report or on EKONID’s website.
Our sincerest appreciation and gratitude is dedicated to all our members and clients, who, through their generous
assistance and endorsement, made EKONID’s work and success in 2018 possible. This support, combined with the
dedication of our highly motivated team, enables us to continue to promote bilateral trade and investment between
our great nations and to carry out the representation of our members’ interest. Special gratitude belongs to the Federal
German Ministry of Economics (BMWi) for their sustained financial support for EKONID, and to the German Embassy and
all of our other German, European and Indonesian partners, in particular to our Premium as well as Law & Tax Network
partners, for maintaining and developing excellent cooperation.
Thank you all very much !
Prijono Sugiarto
Chairman of the EKONID
Board of Management
Jan H. Rönnfeld
Managing Director
of EKONID
