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Indonesia's government said on Friday that investors have poured 52.7 trillion rupiah, or nearly $3.2 billion, into the country's palm oil sector through September this year, part of efforts to extract greater value from its flagship commodity.
Indonesia continues to pursue its strategy of refining its abundant natural resources domestically so it can export higher-value goods. While large-scale industrialisation remains heavily concentrated on metals, billions of dollars in investment flowed into palm oil processing between January and September 2025. Data showed palm oil ranked as the third most popular commodity among investors tapping into Indonesia's downstream processing sector during the nine-month period.
"Nickel processing still leads [with 136.1 trillion rupiah] in realised investment, followed by copper [61.2 trillion rupiah] and palm oil [52.7 trillion rupiah]," Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani said at a press conference in Jakarta.
Palm oil-related investment has been growing quarter on quarter. Around 21 trillion rupiah in fresh investment flowed into Indonesia's palm oil refining sector in the third quarter alone, up from 16.4 trillion rupiah in the second quarter of 2025, the ministry reported. Total investment stood at nearly 15.3 trillion rupiah in the first quarter.
According to Rosan, the figures presented were not merely pledges but reflected actual funds already spent by companies. The rise in investment came alongside double-digit growth in exports, although the sales figures included crude palm oil (CPO). The Southeast Asian nation exported $16.66 billion worth of crude palm oil and processed products between January and August 2025, up 35.23 percent year on year, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
Rosan did not disclose the countries of origin of the palm oil investors. However, Indonesia attracted 1,434.3 trillion rupiah in total investment between January and September, with 55.1 percent of that coming from domestic investors.
Source: Jakarta Globe