Deputy of Financing and Investment of Nusantara State Capital (IKN) Authority Agung Wicaksono mentioned the agency has bagged 19 letters of intent from Malaysian companies to invest in the project, including to conduct feasibility studies and housing development.
In addition to Malaysia, Agung mentioned that Brunei companies have also shown their interest in investing in IKN. “We hope the companies from Brunei will follow suit with their potential in the halal industry,” he said.
Malaysia and Brunei expressed their intentions during the Borneo Business Roundtable, part of the series of meetings at the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC). The trilateral meeting was held at the Sultan Hotel, Jakarta on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.
Agung said there are three notable things about the meeting. “Firstly, it is an honor that IKN could be present at the Borneo Business Roundtable as the first state capital in the world to move across the island,” he said.
Second, Agung added, that IKN as the new capital will support Borneo as the lung of the planet through a sustainable smart forest city concept and help maintain the world’s climate.
Third, countries with territorial claims in Borneo have started to invest in IKN, including Malaysia and Brunei.
IKN, Agung mentioned, is developed with a tri-city economy concept involving IKN, Balikpapan, and Samarinda. Through the Borneo Business Roundtable, IKN will reportedly develop as a tri-country connectivity city involving Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia.
“This is the essence of Borneo Business Roundtable, how IKN is becoming part of the tri-city economy and tri-country connectivity as a global city,” he concluded.
Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei also agreed to form a Borneo Economic Community (BEC). According to ASEAN-BAC Chairman Arsjad Rasjid, the community was born out of a mutual agreement to explore the power residing in Borneo.
“As the biggest island in Asia and third biggest in the world, [Borneo] could unite its economy with IKN to be the epicenter of growth,” he said.