The Australian government has become the latest party to express interest in investing in Indonesia’s proposed sovereign wealth fund.
According to a report by IDN Financial, Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg conveyed his government’s interest during a bilateral meeting with Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.
Frydenberg said that that the Australian government is considering investing in the Indonesian SWF through Australia’s superannuation fund.
The Indonesian government is known to have held dialogues on the proposed wealth fund, which is still in its early stages, with potential investors.
According to media reports, Indonesia is looking at raising $5-10 billion for its proposed sovereign wealth fund.
Late last year, Indonesia coordinating maritime affairs minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said Japan Bank for International Cooperation had expressed interest in helping Indonesia establish a sovereign wealth fund. Pandjaitan had earlier told reporters that he had discussed the idea of an Indonesia sovereign wealth fund with the United Arab Emirates.
Other investors reported to have evinced interested in the fund include SoftBank Group. and the U.S. International Development Finance Corp.
The idea to establish a sovereign wealth fund is said to have the backing of three government institutions – the Finance Ministry, the Investment Coordinating Board, and the State-Owned Enterprise Ministry.
According to previous reports, the proposed fund is said to be modelled after similar state vehicles established by neighbouring countries Singapore and Malaysia, which take equities in companies through their state-investment arms Temasek and Khazanah, respectively.
While there had been suggestions that the fund may look to invest in Indonesia’s burgeoning technology sector, DealStreetAsia sources have said that the fund will be focused on backing conventional businesses and projects such as infrastructure and energy projects.
