The Ministry of Investment/Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) reported that realized investment in the first half of 2025 reached IDR 942 trillion, marking a year-on-year (yoy) increase of 13.6%. This figure represents 49.5% of the national investment target for the year, which is set at IDR 1,905.9 trillion.

Of this total, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) contributed IDR 432.6 trillion, while Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) accounted for IDR 510.3 trillion.

Interestingly, over the past six years, Indonesia's FDI structure has undergone a notable shift. Japan, once one of the largest and most consistent investors in Indonesia, has gradually lost its top position.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has shown a surprising resurgence after being absent from the top five investor list for several consecutive years.

These shifts are evident when comparing data from 2019, 2023, 2024, and 2025. CNBC Indonesia Research excluded 2020 to 2022 due to the economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Top 5 FDI Countries (1st Half – in US$ billion):

Is Japan Pulling Away from Indonesia?

According to BKPM data, Japan was once a leading foreign investor in Indonesia. In the first half of 2019, it ranked second, with a total investment of US$2.4 billion—just behind Singapore and ahead of China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

Since then, Japan’s investment trend has steadily declined. By the first half of 2020, investment dropped sharply to US$1.2 billion, pushing Japan to the fourth spot.

Although it slightly rebounded to US$2 billion in the first half of 2023, Japan still failed to reclaim a spot in the top three.

The decline continued in 2024, with investment shrinking to US$1.8 billion, placing Japan in fifth place.

In 2025, the downward trend persisted, with Japan’s investment amounting to just US$1.6 billion—making it the lowest among the top five foreign investors.

Malaysia’s Investment Resurgence

In contrast to Japan’s declining trend, both Malaysia and China have shown positive momentum in their FDI performance in Indonesia.

China's investment growth has been on the rise since 2017. In 2013, China's FDI stood at US$297 million (ranked 12th), rising to US$628 million in 2015 (ranked 9th), and by 2017, it entered the top three.

In the first half of 2019, China's investment reached US$2.3 billion, maintaining the third position. As of 1H 2025, it has increased further to US$3.6 billion.

Malaysia, which was in fifth place in 1H 2019 with US$1 billion, experienced a dramatic jump in 1H 2020, reaching US$5.9 billion—rising to third place, overtaking both Japan and Hong Kong.

After dropping out of the top five in 2023 and 2024, Malaysia made a comeback in the first half of 2025, recording US$1.7 billion in investment and ranking fourth, just ahead of Japan.

Malaysia’s return to the top investor ranks reflects renewed confidence and growing interest from Malaysian investors in the Indonesian market.