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JAKARTA: Investors continue to show strong interest in properties in Jakarta and the surrounding Greater Jakarta metropolitan area despite the construction of the country’s new capital located in East Kalimantan, according to property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Indonesia. Surabaya in East Java and Bali also emerged as alternative markets attractive for both foreign and local investors, JLL said. “We see strong inquiries for property investment in Indonesia during the second quarter after the election concluded (in February). “Investors remain viewing Greater Jakarta as the strongest location as it’s already an established market,” said JLL Indonesia capital markets senior director Herully Suherman during a quarterly media briefing last week. While the future capital city of Nusantara held promise, Rully noted it is expected to have minimal immediate impact on Jakarta. “Even the state government realises that (the city) is a long-term development,” he added. The real estate market within Jakarta and its periphery area has remained robust as it is mainly driven by commercial considerations rather than external influences, such as Nusantara, he explained. In the second quarter, Rully pointed out that investors focused on six key sectors, namely landed residences, office buildings, hotels, serviced apartments, retail and alternative properties like schools, hospitals, retail, senior living centres and gas stations. Hotels, especially luxury accommodation in Jakarta and Bali, remained in high demand amid the limited supply and the serviced apartments also proved attractive owing to its strong yields. The retail sector witnessed keen interest from international brands, driven by occupancy rates exceeding 90% in mid-to-upper-scale malls. Greater Jakarta was a prime target for these players, Rully noted, but investors remained “picky” with the location chosen and the size of the location chosen. Businesses have long prioritised commercial factors when making investment decisions, with a strong population often cited as a key driver. Jakarta itself is home to a staggering 11 million residents and is projected to swell to over 25 million by 2035 because of robust economic and urban growth, according to Bandung Institute of Technology geologist Heri Andreas. “The density growth would be much greater if it’s combined with Greater Jakarta activity,” Heri told The Jakarta Post. Greater Jakarta is estimated to house a population of 35.4 million people, ranking as the second most populous urban area after Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan, according to Demographia. The population boom, coupled with the megacity’s growing stature as the nation’s prominent business hub, has kept the city an attractive destination for investment. Indonesian Shopping Centre Association chairman Alphonzus Widjaja told The Jakarta Post on July 31 that investors were more interested in building new malls in Jakarta as it shifted its focus to becoming a global city while they were less inclined to build in Nusantara. The small population of the nation’s future capital in East Kalimantan, which is still under construction, means there will be a limited number of customers, Alphonzus said. This prompted the group to request more incentives for local investments “to minimise losses (and prevent) big deficits as the population grows.” Businesses had blamed concerns over the potential market in Nusantara for the private sector’s reluctance to invest in the nation’s new capital. Indonesian Employers Association chairwoman Shinta Kamdani said on June 26 that the future capital city’s small population had become the main obstacle keeping investors from seeing it as a lucrative investment opportunity, adding that the government needed to address this issue. The government envisions the future capital city to be home to two million people by 2040 before increasing to more than four million in 2060. This year, the planned city’s inhabitants are projected to be around 250,000 people this year, according to the Nusantara Authority this February. Cautious approach investors started to adopt a cautious approach in the second half of the year, closely monitoring Jakarta’s market to ensure sustainable returns amid the potential impacts of a United States recession on Indonesia’s economy. Anxiety over a potential slowdown in the United States economy intensified as last week’s market retreat escalated into a global sell-off. “Investors are becoming more detailed in their calculations, considering factors like purchasing power and market growth potential,” Rully said. “They will analyse how many units can be sold and the duration of the sales period. ”This increased scrutiny was evident in the warehousing sector, where decision-making timelines extended to three months compared to the previous one-month timeline,” said JLL Indonesia logistics and industrial head Farazia Basarah. — The Jakarta Post/ANN

PETALING JAYA: MISC Bhd has appointed Zahid Osman as its executive director, president and group chief executive officer with effect from Aug 16 2024. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, MISC said Zahid, 52, will succeed Captain Dr Rajalingam Subramaniam (58), who has resigned to pursue other interests. MISC also announced that Rajalingam had resigned as director from wholly-owned unit, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd. Rajalingam will serve as the executive director, president and group chief executive officer of MISC until Aug 15, 2024. “Zahid joined MISC in 2017 as the vice president of gas assets and solutions and moved on to a new role as the vice president of corporate planning in 2022. He sits on the boards of several subsidiaries and joint venture companies within the MISC Group. “Zahid currently serves as the chairman of advisory panel for Malaysia Women in Energy.” Prior to MISC, Zahid was with the Shell Group of Companies for over 20 years.

KUCHING: South Korea-based Lotte Energy Materials Corp is planning for an initial additional investment of RM1.2bil to further expand its elecfoil manufacturing facilities in Samajaya Free Industrial Park here in Sarawak. Lotte Energy is a leading provider of advanced battery material. The Samajaya plant is the group’s first overseas factory to manufacture elecfoil, which is widely used in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage items. According to Lotte Energy senior vice-president Park Ingoo, there is a possibility for Lotte Energy to put in an additional re-investment of RM2.5bil for the plant, which was acquired from ILIN Materials Co Ltd about five years ago. He was speaking at a briefing for Sarawak deputy-premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan on Lotte Energy’s future expansion plans in Sarawak. Awang Tengah, who is also the state’s International Trade, Industry and Investment Minister, was leading a delegation on a working visit to meet up with existing and potential South Korean investors in Seoul recently. Despite the global economic uncertainties, Lotte Energy plans to expand its manufacturing plant to make Sarawak the key hub to produce cutting-edge battery materials, said the state’s Trade, Industry and Investment Ministry in a statement. “The expansion of the manufacturing facility is expected to generate more than 200 jobs which will foster industrial growth and contribute to the local economy,” Park noted. Meanwhile, another South Korean energy and chemical company, OCI Holdings, has reaffirmed its commitment to Awang Tengah during the meeting with the company’s top executives to expand its manufacturing facilities in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu, with a potential reinvestment of RM3.1bil. OCI specialises in the production of polycrystalline silicon, hydrogen peroxide and other chemical-related materials. In 2017,OCI via subsidiary OCI Malaysia Sdn Bhd (OCIM), acquired full ownership of the polysilicon production facility from Japan’s Tokuyama. To date, OCIM has invested over RM8bil in Sarawak, catering for the solar industry’s polysilicon needs. OCI’s growth plans include diversifying and expanding its chemical materials production in Sarawak. This includes joint ventures with South Korea’s Kumho, one of the world’s largest tire manufacturers and Tokuyama to produce epichlorohydrin and semiconductor-grade polysilicon respectively, with combined investments exceeding RM3.2bil. OCI chairman Lee Woo Hyun has expressed the company’s keen interest in exploring further investments in power development, particularly in renewable energy (RE) via its subsidiary OCI Energy. With a robust global presence, OCI is a major player in RE and energy storage systems. Currently, OCI Energy is the largest independent solar developer in Texas, United States. Awang Tengah, in welcoming Lee’s proposals, highlighted Sarawak government’s commitment to make Sarawak a leader in green energy. “This collaboration in green power development is poised to enhance Sarawak’s energy security while promoting sustainable economic growth and environmental stewardship,” he added. During the working trip, Awang Tengah also met with top executives of KH Shinhwa SnC, which is interested in further exploring collaborative business and investment opportunities with state-owned Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB). This in particular for the electricity safety enhancement projects, including investment in new technology and solutions for power generation. KH Shinhwa, a solution provider and consultant for smart energy, smart cities and smart farms, is currently collaborating with SEB on a hybrid microgrid solar solution project worth about US$7mil in investment. The outcome of the project is expected to provide alternative sustainable energy solutions and set a new benchmark in RE technology.