How a Golf Resort Near Singapore Can Grow Australian Investment in Indonesia
Indonesia’s Batam, Bintan, and Karimun (BBK) islands, just an hour from Singapore, present a strategic yet underutilized gateway for boosting Australian investment into Southeast Asia’s largest economy. While Australia’s outbound investment into Indonesia remains low despite recent growth, leveraging Singapore’s infrastructure, connectivity, and business familiarity offers a promising path forward. Singapore’s hinterland strategy, including its new Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with Malaysia’s Johor, could serve as a model for revitalizing the BBK free trade zone. If bureaucratic hurdles in BBK can be resolved, the area could attract Australian firms seeking proximity to Indonesia’s market while operating from a Singapore base. A trilateral review involving Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore could unlock this potential, aligning economic ambitions and supporting Indonesia’s push for high-value industries like EVs, clean energy, and the digital economy.