Antara News·Indonesia·Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 11:38 AM UTC

Indonesia turns to digital economy to target 6 percent growth in 2027

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M. Harianto, Tegar Nurfitra

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs is looking to the digital economy to help drive economic growth to six percent by 2027, with a focus on investment, productivity, and higher-value exports.

“Indonesia’s economy grew 5.45 percent in the first half of 2026, laying the foundation for the 2027 targets of six-percent growth and 2.5-percent inflation,” Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement on Sunday.

He noted that achieving the growth target would require Indonesia to increase investment by 8 to 9 percent, improve productivity, and step up efforts to export higher-value products.

Airlangga emphasized the role of the digital economy in supporting this agenda, noting that Indonesia’s gross merchandise value (GMV) reached nearly US$100 billion in 2025, up 14 percent from the previous year.

The growth of the digital economy is also reflected in the expanding adoption of Indonesia’s QR code-based payment system, QRIS, which has 65.77 million users and 44.86 million merchants, he added.

On regional cooperation, Airlangga said Indonesia had concluded negotiations on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), which is scheduled to be signed at the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines in November 2026.

The minister cited Boston Consulting Group projections that DEFA, which is expected to be ratified within 180 days of signing, could double the value of ASEAN’s digital economy to US$2 trillion by 2030.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia recorded 12.99 billion digital payment transactions in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 38.08 percent year-on-year.

Highlighting the importance of data protection, Airlangga said the government was developing post-quantum cryptography and establishing a national task force to prepare for the transition to quantum-resilient cryptographic systems.

Regarding digital infrastructure, he stressed the need to ensure adequate land, electricity, and water supplies for data center development. He also said NVIDIA was in talks to invest US$4.5 billion in Batam’s Free Trade Zone.

Airlangga further highlighted Indonesia’s e-commerce sector, whose market value is projected to grow by more than 14 percent to US$71 billion, making it the largest in Southeast Asia.

The government aims to increase e-commerce transactions to Rp40 trillion (around US$2.2 billion) by the end of 2026, 10 percent higher than in 2025.

In addition, Airlangga said international cooperation in artificial intelligence through the World AI Collaboration Organization (WAICO) was projected to attract US$8 billion to US$12 billion in investment between 2026 and 2030.

He concluded by underscoring the need for collaboration among government institutions, businesses, academia, and other stakeholders to achieve stronger and more inclusive economic growth.

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