Benefiting from bilateral investment, business cooperation and partnerships between Indonesia and Switzerland 

According to a press statement, Switzerland and Indonesia recently inked a deal to boost bilateral relations. The deal was signed by the Swiss-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (SwissCham Indonesia) and the Investment Ministry or the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). The memorandum of understanding was held to improve bilateral investment and business cooperation between Indonesia and Switzerland. SwissCham Indonesia and the Investment Ministry serve as liaisons between the countries. They will become dialogue partners where discussions will take place related to investment policies, foreign direct investment (FDI), innovation and knowledge transfer.

SwissCham Indonesia has been actively connecting Swiss companies’ investment to Indonesia since 2018. There are currently 150 Swiss companies operating in Indonesia, creating thousands of jobs. With the signing, SwissCham Indonesia’s chairman hopes to continue their contribution in promoting the ease of doing business in Indonesia and to increase investments from Swiss companies to Indonesia and vice versa.

Swiss Indonesia Partnership: A Brief History

In 1952, Indonesia and Switzerland began their bilateral relations. Switzerland recognised Indonesia in 1949, after Indonesia gained its independence in 1945. Swiss citizens have settled in Indonesia as early as the 17th century. The expansion of development cooperation in 1971 led both countries to closer relations, and until 1997 Indonesia was a priority for Swiss development cooperation. Since 2008, Indonesia has been one of eight priority countries of SECO (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs).

Switzerland has been working closely with Indonesia on multilateral environmental policy (forests, biodiversity, chemicals and environmental governance). Indonesia and Switzerland also cooperate within the framework of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The Swiss embassy is located in Jakarta, which also covers Timor Leste. In 2021, Indonesia commemorates the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations with the Swiss Confederation.

Economic Cooperation of Indonesia and Swiss

Currently, more than 150 Swiss companies are active in Indonesia. Diplomatic relations have deepened and have been going on for decades. Indonesia is one of Swiss’ priority countries through the Indonesia Cooperation Program 2021-2024, with CHF 64 million funding. These programs, among others, promotes inclusive and sustainable development, focusing to improve effective public institutions and developing MSMEs.

According to data from the Indonesian Embassy in Bern, the volume of trade between Swiss and Indonesia reached CHF 2.8 billion, an increase by 50% in 2017 compared to the previous year. Indonesia’s major exports to Swiss are jewelry, optical fiber, gold, essential oil and synthetic organic dyes, while Indonesia mainly imports from Swiss for gold, Turbo jet-Turbo Propeller, Artificial corundum – aluminum oxide, aluminum hydroxide, vitamins and printing ink. Swiss Direct Investment (FDI) in Indonesia reached 324 projects worth USD 150.7 million in 2019, while trading volume amounting USD 1.4 billion with USD 739,904 million in export and USD 695,375 million in import. This results in the Indonesia and Swiss balance of trade surplus of USD 44,529 million. 

The Swiss Business Hub Indonesia was opened to promote trade and investment between the two countries. The Swiss Business Hub Indonesia is the key contact point for Swiss and Liechtenstein small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking for export opportunities in the Indonesian market. The Hub’s services include: market information; certification support; detailed market and product analysis; search for distributors, local representatives and partners and support for the establishment of communication channels; B2B / B2C sales pipeline development; individual consulting and coaching of SMEs; site location evaluation; organization of events and fact-finding missions for Swiss companies, associations and official delegations. They are part of the Embassy of Switzerland in Jakarta which are responsible for implementing Swiss export strategies in Indonesia and for promoting Switzerland as a business location.

Other Cooperation

Other than the economic side, the Swiss government offers scholarships through the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship from State Secretariat for Education Research and Innovation (SERI) to researchers and artists from Indonesia. Each year, the Swiss Confederation awards the scholarship to promote international exchange and research cooperation between Switzerland and over 180 countries. The recipients are selected by the awarding body, FCS (the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students). 

As part of the Country Strategy 2017-2020, SECO promotes economic and fiscal reforms, strengthens competitiveness and supports the development of sustainable tourism. Another priority area of economic development cooperation is vocational education and training (development of polytechnics and school of tourism). Switzerland also committed to help Indonesia after the 2004 tsunami, which were used from SDC programmes. On 6 December 1973, the Indonesian and Swiss governments signed an agreement to establish Polytechnic for Mechanics within the Bandung Institute of Technology at Bandung. Today, the Swiss Mechanics Polytechnic has transformed into Bandung State Polytechnic for Manufacture.

On political and economic side, both countries have bilateral consultations mechanism which is Forum Dialog Politik, Joint Economic Trade Commission (JETC) and Indonesia-EFTA CEPA.

BRIGHT Indonesia as Your Local Partner

With the constant shift of consumer behaviour and demands, it would need a lot of in-depth research about the Indonesian pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, to enter the Indonesian market, you would need the right local partner to assist you. 

BRIGHT Indonesia is an ideal business partner for you. We will assist you on the ground, including virtual assistants during the mission, logistical planning, and detailed communication. It can cause your company to focus on developing partnership cooperation rather than the hassles of the business trip.

BRIGHT Indonesia provides several services such as Market Insight Research, Business Partnership Engagement, Management and Strategy Consulting, and Foreign Direct Investment. The services will help your business to:

1. Assist you in expanding and developing your business by identification of potential partners.
2. Secure the agreement between client companies and future Indonesian business partners by providing a list of potentially suitable partners, arranging business meetings, and acting as a liaison.
3. Supporting our foreign client companies from the private sector with developing corporate or business unit strategies or helping your company from public sector organizations with public policy.
4. Link client companies both from the private and public sectors in global foreign direct investment (FDI) through training and assisting your company in entering FDI source countries to gather investment for your company’s local markets.

For more information, email info@brightindonesia.net.

*This article is written by Nadia Syailendra