Choosing the Path to Advanced Indonesia and Winning Global Competition

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The following is important information related to the development of the business universe that needs attention today based on the curation of the SUAR Team.

The Path to Win in Global Competition

Global competition is fierce. Trade wars are looming. The business world needs guidance to win the competition in the global arena. Now, the government is preparing more systematic sectoral deregulation and digital transformation measures. One of them is through the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which is believed to double the value of the ASEAN digital economy - from USD 1 trillion to USD 2 trillion by 2030.
Chairperson of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) Shinta W. Kamdani likened this global condition to a game of chess. "The chess pawns and the grandmaster are our skills. The economy in the end is not only driven by numbers and formulas, but by animal spirits (John Maynard Keynes-read theory), namely courage, imagination, and confidence of the business world. Without that, a strategy is just blank paper," he said.

However, the business world will not be able to move optimally without a stable political foundation and political will to move forward. Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia economist Hendri Saparini believes that political stability has often been narrowly understood. "We don't just understand that political stability is simply that there are no demonstrations, then strong stability, or strong coalitions. I don't think that's what we mean by political stability," he said.

Indonesia's 2026 Draft State Budget under the World's Eye

The announcement of the posture of the 2026 Draft State Budget (RAPBN) is not only a concern for domestic businesses, but also for external stakeholders. There are mixed views from them about the 2026 Draft State Budget posture.

SUAR gathered responses from foreign entrepreneurs in Indonesia, ambassadors of friendly countries, and overseas economists to see their perspectives on the 2026 Draft State Budget.

Read the full story here.

Coconut Downstreaming Potentially Generates IDR 400 Trillion and Absorbs Millions of Workers

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman said that the coconut downstream program has great potential to absorb 1.6 million new workers in the next three years. In addition, coconut export potential could be worth up to Rp 400 trillion. This industry is already awaited by the global market, especially China and India.
One of the triggers for the surge in coconut downstream export potential is none other than the current price of coconut commodities. Quoting the Latest Statistics on Agricultural Economics released by the Ministry of Agriculture, the average price of coconut is IDR 5,645 per kilogram, up 51.24% from 2024 which is in the range of IDR 3,728 per kilogram. The increase in coconut prices is due to weather disruptions in coconut supplying countries, resulting in decreased supply. Indonesia also benefits from being one of the coconut supplying countries. This is because coconuts cannot grow in export destination countries such as Europe.

Chairman of the Indonesian Coconut Processing Industry Association (HIPKI) Rudy Handiwidjaja said that the coconut processing industry in Indonesia has developed rapidly. "Downstreaming for our coconut tree industry has advanced. Everything from processing, from coconut, we can produce everything, because the downstream products have been produced in Indonesia," he told SUAR (22/8/2025).

Read the full story here.

SAPA UMKM, a New Breakthrough to Achieve UMKM Competitiveness

The SAPA UMKM digital platform, which will be launched in the near future, integrates access and business support services, to government priority programs.
If there are UMKM that do not yet have a Business Identification Number (NIB), this system will automatically direct them to take care of it through the relevant institutions. The same also applies to halal certification and distribution permits from the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM). SAPA UMKM is also expected to encourage entrepreneurs to be involved in a number of strategic government programs such as the Red and White Village Cooperative (KDMP) and Free Nutritious Meals (MBG).

Read the full story here.

Quality of Human Resources Determines the Progress of the Business World

When delivering a speech at the launch of SUAR 's new media on Thursday night (21/8/2025), Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that many countries can prosper not because of natural resources, but because of human resources (HR). Indonesia will have all that if the quality of human resources is boosted. This is the homework to achieve 8% growth.
According to the Human Development Report 2025 released by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Indonesia's Human Development Index (HDI) in 2023 is ranked 113 out of 193 countries with a score of 0.728 (scale of 0 to 1). This position rose one rank compared to the previous year.

Read more here.

Indonesia Security Summit 2025: This forum brings together industry leaders, regulators, physical and cyber security practitioners, and technologists to discuss, share insights, and shape the future of digital security in Indonesia. The event will be held August 25-August 26, 2025 at Menara Astra, Jakarta. On August 25, there will be three panel discussion themes of Indonesia Security Summit 2025, namely "The Importance of Security Management Systems in Mitigating Threats and Disruptions to Ensure Business Continuity", "Managing Investment Climate Uncertainty and Reputation", and "Strengthening Supply Chain Security to Ensure National Distribution Stability".

LSPR AI Festival 2025: This event initiated by the London School of Public Relations (LSPR) will be held August 25-26, 2025 at The Amani Palladium, Bekasi. It is an educational and networking forum between academia, industry, and the community on the creative and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI). Speakers include the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi), the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), businesses, and academics.