Yesterday (11/5), at the Investor Relations Forum 2026, I had the opportunity to discuss Indonesia, Investment, and Danantara Indonesia. Together with various stakeholders—from OJK leadership, bankers, to representatives of the DPR (House of Representatives)—we exchanged ideas on how Indonesia can navigate itself amid a challenging investment climate.

For me, we need two things: building up market confidence and crafting a better storytelling narrative about Indonesia.

Why? Last week, I happened to attend several investor forums in the United States. There, we extensively discussed the two best-performing markets in Asia: Taiwan and South Korea. One of the keys to their success is how well they’ve built a storytelling narrative around AI and the future.

In Taiwan, a single company (TSMC), has a market cap larger than all of Southeast Asia combined. South Korea’s stock market has also seen extraordinary year-to-date gains, dominated by the AI narrative as well. I also had the chance to meet a company that builds humanoids—robots that can help clean your home, priced lower than a car. Something previously unimaginable, but wrapped in compelling storytelling, it feels remarkably advanced and successfully captivates audiences.

Unfortunately, Indonesia is still fundamentally dominated by traditional industries. No one has successfully capitalized on the AI trend. Yet, to grow, AI needs energy, and that’s where we can play a role. Capitalizing on AI’s energy needs can become Indonesia’s strategic advantage. I’ve met with several of the world’s largest tech companies, and all of them are eyeing Indonesia as a source of energy. This is our opportunity.

Now we see globally that the flow goes to AI, that’s why the story is everything.

This is precisely why this becomes the task of our investor relations colleagues: how do you communicate to the market? What is the big story we can highlight about your company and about Indonesia? Don’t get too stuck with domestic stories that are no longer relevant.

When the storytelling is good, I’m confident that market confidence will also be built up. Of course, it must be accompanied by solid execution on the ground. Ultimately, this is the time to be optimistic. I’m confident our performance is strong. It’s time for us to narrate it better, so that going forward we’re ready to compete with the giant players at the global level.