Indonesia election may favor Chinese companies if Prabowo wins

Indonesians voted for their first new president in a decade, with polls showing the former general bent on continuing to pursue an economic strategy based on commercial ties with China, while also expressing a desire to maintain a more neutral foreign policy stance between the United States and China.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who ran in the Feb. 14 election, has pledged to build on President Joko Widodo's business-friendly policies, which include more than an eight-fold increase in foreign investment from China during his 10 years in office.
"Chinese companies are likely to benefit the most from Jokowi's positive economic ties with Beijing," which "are likely to continue under Prabowo," said Dedi Dinarto, chief Indonesian analyst at policy consultancy Global Counsel. analyst Dedi Dinarto said.
When Joko took office in 2014, he set out an ambitious economic and infrastructure agenda that has seen Indonesia grow at an average of 5% per year as key business reforms were passed. During that time, China became one of the most important sources of investment, totaling $7.4 billion to Indonesia last year, according to Indonesian government data. In comparison, direct investment from the United States amounted to $3.28 billion.

Sources of information:South China Morning Post (newspaper in Hong Kong)