MANILA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday said it has approved a loan of 500 million U.S. dollars to support Indonesia's development agenda and business reform priorities.
The Manila-based bank said Indonesia has undertaken various actions to improve the investment climate, including enabling environment for investments, easing trade barriers, and upscaling enterprises.
The Southeast Asian country has set an ambitious target to achieve high-income status by 2045, which requires its gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by at least 6 percent annually, significantly above the pre-pandemic average of 5.3 percent, said ADB Country Director for Indonesia Jiro Tominaga.
"Ongoing structural reforms are needed to boost its growth potential by stimulating investment, job creation, improved business climate, and trade," Tominaga added.
According to the multilateral lender, Indonesia has signed five contracts of foreign direct investment (FDI) for the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), which may generate at least 49,000 jobs in the Southeast Asian country.
