Nasional Seminar: Investment Role in Economic Growth

On Monday (2/05/2016) a national seminar with the theme of The Investment Role in Economic Growth was held at auditorium Campus I by Management Department of Faculty of Economics (FE) University of Ahmad Dahlan (UAD). The event was held in collaboration with Association of Indonesian Economic Scholars (ISEI) chapter Yogyakarta and daily Kedaulatan Rakyat.

The event was attended by UAD’s Deputy Rector II Drs. M. Safar Nasir, M.Si., the dean of Faculty of Economics Dra. Salamatun Asakdiyah, M.Si., lecturers at the department, the students, and invited quests from BCA, BNI, Bukopin, Syariah Mandiri Bank, BPR Solo, Association of Management Departments, The Council of Economics of Regional Muhammadiyah Board, The Council of Economics of PWA.

The main speakers in the event were Arif Budi Santoso (Director of Indonesian Bank chapter Yogyakarta), Dr. Taufik Hidayat, CFA. (UAD’s lecturer at FE) and Robby Kusuma Harta (Chief of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry KADIN Yogyakarta chapter). The moderator of seminar was Roni Siyantoro an editor of daily Kedaulatan Rakyat.

In his first session Dr. Taufik Hidayat said that in investment field, Indonesian people are still at follower level. If we keep the post we will never get anything for followers get less profit.

He added that the condition for investment in Indonesia is far left behind compared to its potentials such as in insurance, pension, and capital market.

Moreover, he said there should be constraints in improving investment such as short Horizon Investment: the understanding of function and how to make an investment; the low people’s participation in insurance, pension, and capital market; and security programs for the old people.

 Meanwhile, Arif Budi Santoso as the second speaker dealt with macro-economics in Yogyakarta. He said that Yogyakarta’s economy is mainly supported by tourism 39% followed by industry 13%, agriculture 10%, hotel and restaurants 10%, and construction 9%. He said that tourism took the main role for it could stimulate other sectors such as trade, manufacture industry, transportation, and communication and information. He said that Yogyakarta would remain city of tourism, education, and culture by 2025.

 He said that investment in Yogyakarta dropped 1.44% this year compared to 2014 from 5.78% to 4.34%. Arif explained that there were some obstacles for investment in Yogyakarta such as mismatch (man power, supply and demand qualification imbalance), infrastructure condition, and land availability. He added that investment in Yogyakarta should be

Sementara untuk investasi di DIY, pada tahun 2015 akan mengalami penurunan 1,44% di banding tahun 2014. Pada tahun 2015 sebesar 4,34% dan tahun 2014 5,78%. Arif menjelaskan ada beberapa penghambat untuk investasi di DIY seperti mismatch (tenaga kerja, kualifikasi supply dan demand tidak sesuai), keterbatasan infrastruktur, dan kesulitan untuk memperoleh lahan. Arif juga menyarankan, jika berinvestasi di DIY sebaiknya yang berbentuk padat karya.

In the event, Robby added that Yogyakarta’s strength and prospects for investment is mainly in tourism. He said the supporting aspects were keris traditional dagger, batik traditional cloth, history and culture, region spirituality and preserving natural beauty.