KPMG to invest millions in Indonesian growth plan

With an eye towards digitalization, cybersecurity, and regulatory technology, KPMG is investing around $10 million in a five-year plan to accelerate Indonesian businesses and drive economic growth through a variety of initiatives.

The Indonesia wing of global Big Four firm KPMG has announced that it will invest heavily in Indonesia to support economic growth, facilitate business transformation, and foster regional collaboration over the next five years.

The investment will focus on areas such as cybersecurity, data solutions for business transformation, and IT enablement, as well as regulatory technology for compliance.

The CEO of KPMG in Indonesia, Irwan Djaja, emphasized Indonesia’s economic potential and the significance of the firm’s sizeable investment. “Our substantial investment of IDR 150 billion (around $10 million) over the next five years showcases our unwavering confidence in Indonesia's economic potential and reaffirms KPMG's global standing.”

“With this funding, we aim to create 300 new high-skilled positions in critical domains such as business transformation, security engineering, data science, sustainability, and climate change,” said Djaja.

The decision to make this investment is rooted in the thriving Indonesian market, which offers numerous opportunities, including a growing number of multinational corporations based in the country, the evolution of SMEs into larger corporations, the emergence of innovative startups, increased foreign direct investment, and robust government support.

The investment plan will be executed in collaboration with KPMG’s arm in Singapore – the two countries have strong trade ties, and the two member firms are closely connected as well.

Singapore, being the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in ASEAN over the past decade, has played a vital role in Indonesia’s economic growth. Notably, in 2022, Singapore became the largest foreign direct investor in Indonesia, with investments totaling over $13 billion, marking a substantial 29% increase from the previous year.

Several other large consulting firms have expanded their offerings in Indonesia in recent years. For example, Alvarez & Marsal added an Indonesia office to its existing Asian branches in Singapore, China and Hong Kong, while LanciaConsult expanded into the Indonesian market with a new office in Jakarta.