Interview with Christian Teo ahead of the Jakarta General Meeting

In one week, Legalink members will gather in Jakarta for the General Meeting, hosted by Christian Teo & Partners (CTP). To mark the occasion, the latest edition of the Legalink Interview Series features Christian Teo, Managing Partner of CTP.

About CTP
CTP is a corporate commercial firm whose size and specialist focus make it a boutique. It is often the first stop for clients who need legal and regulatory advice in technology, media and telecoms (TMT), hospitality, property and real estate, and mining and natural resources.

Indonesia as an investment destination
Christian gives an honest view of the outlook. In the short term, he says, it may not look very appealing. In the long term, Indonesia is very promising, thanks to its strategic location, its large population and a growing number of high-net-worth individuals. Foreign interest is currently strongest in infrastructure, especially technology infrastructure such as data centres and telecoms, and in natural resources, both driven by global technology development.

He also looks at the sovereign investment vehicles Danantara and INA. It is still early days, he notes, but over the next few years they will be key players in deal-making for government projects. For foreign investors, he points out that the legal and regulatory environment is still developing and may look inconsistent, and that government policy plays an important role alongside the written regulations.

What to expect in Jakarta
Christian hopes members will leave with a clear sense of Indonesia’s potential, feel better equipped to discuss it with their clients, and come back to explore other parts of the country. As he puts it, Jakarta “has its own unique culture, but it is also a melting pot of people from across Indonesia, so it is really a window to the whole country.”

The programme brings together an outstanding line-up of speakers:

• Prof. Hikmahanto Juwana (keynote), on geopolitical shifts and the future of foreign investment in Indonesia
• Bono Daru Adji, Managing Director, Danantara: “From Assets to Advantage: How Danantara’s Legal and Governance Framework is Forging a New Path for Indonesian Investment”
• Aldrich Anthonio, Investment Risk Director, INA: “Investing in Indonesia’s Energy Transition: Risk Allocation, Bankability and Long-Term Capital”
• Rajiv Louis: “Nature Conservation in a Changing World: Why It Matters and Why Lawyers Should Care”

Christian also hopes the meeting will encourage more work from European and US members, showing them what Indonesia can offer.

Read the full interview here.