Indonesia, UAE sign $23b investment deals: officials

JAKARTA: Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have struck nearly $23 billion in business deals, including agreements in the energy sector and on infrastructure projects, the Southeast Asian nation said Monday.

The investments will be made through a new Indonesian sovereign wealth fund set to also involve Japan´s Softbank and US International Development Finance Corporation, Jakarta said, without elaborating. The figure includes nearly a dozen deals signed after a meeting between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi over the weekend, Widodo said on social media. About $12.6 billion was linked to an agreement between Indonesia´s state energy firm Pertamina and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to develop a petrochemical plant in West Java, according to Indonesia´s foreign ministry.