UAE, Indonesia firms sign agreements worth $9.7bn

Companies in Indonesia and the UAE have signed agreements worth a total of $9.7bn during an official visit of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince to the Southeast Asian country, the Indonesian government said on Wednesday.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in at the presidential palace in Bogor, south of the capital Jakarta.

Mohamed bin Zayed and the Indonesian President witness an exchange of MoUs aimed at developing bilateral cooperation and opening new horizons for joint action in various sectors. pic.twitter.com/ykYobE8cMc

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) July 24, 2019

On the sidelines of the visit, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed an agreement with Indonesia’s state-owned energy company PT Pertamina for oil and gas collaboration in both countries and globally, which has a potential value of $2.5bn, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

ADNOC said the deal covered projects in the UAE’ upstream oil and gas sector as well as refining and petrochemicals, LNG, LPG, aviation fuel and fuel retail opportunities in Indonesia.

Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Petrochemical also signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi’s state fund Mubadala and Austrian energy firm OMV to explore opportunities in petrochemicals, the three companies said in a joint statement.

The foreign ministry said the three were exploring the development of a naphtha cracker and petrochemical complex, with a potential value of $6 billion.

Indonesia’s Maspion Group signed two preliminary agreements with Dubai state-controlled DP World to develop a container terminal and industrial logistics park in Gresik in East Java, the ministry and DP World said, valuing the deal at $1.2bn.

It will have a capacity equivalent of 3 million 20-foot shipping containers.

Construction is expected to start later this year with operations commencing in the first half of 2022, DP World said in a statement.

One of the world’s largest port operators, DP World’s concession at the Surabaya Container Terminal ended in April.

Both leaders also talked about increasing investment in Indonesia’s tourism sector and allowing Indonesian state construction firms to participate in projects in the UAE, according to the ministry statement.

President Widodo, after winning an election in April, has pledged more investment opportunities to create jobs in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Sheikh Mohammed’s visit could net $10-$15bn in deals and partnerships, Jakarta’s envoy to the UAE Husin Bagis was quoted as saying by UAE state news agency WAM.