By Anshuman Daga and Yantoultra Ngui
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund has garnered more than $20 billion of co-investments from funds including Singapore’s GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and is actively looking at infrastructure assets, its top executive told Reuters.
“The money is there, but to find the right one at the right angle, the right dimension, the right amount of return, it’s not easy,” Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) Chief Executive Officer Ridha Wirakusumah said on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Thursday.
Indonesia’s youthful population, abundant natural resources and its position as the region’s largest economy is attractive to investors but poor infrastructure, red tape and corruption have hindered investments.
INA, Indonesia’s only sovereign fund, was launched in early 2021 with $5 billion from the government.
Unlike many other state wealth funds that manage excess oil revenues or foreign exchange reserves, the INA seeks to attract foreign co-investors to help fund economic development.
Ridha, a former banker, said the state investor had “live deals” in toll roads, airports and sea ports.
He said the fund is also seeking investments in water and logistics sectors, and digital infrastructure industry that includes fiber optics and data centers.
In 2021, INA set up a $3.75 billion toll road fund with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Dutch APG Asset Management and a unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
This year, China’s Silk Road Fund agreed to invest up to 20 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) in INA.
“Indonesia needs infrastructure,” Ridha said. “It’s actually good for not only long term impact from the investments perspective, but also good for the social impact.”
($1 = 7.1945 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
