JAKARTA – The Indonesian Palm Oil Council (DMSI) revealed that investors from China are very interested in investing US$9.0 billion or around Rp149,04 trillion (Rp16,560 per US dollar) in the palm oil industries of Indonesia.
DMSI Chairman Sahat Sinaga said the Chinese investors had contacted them informing their interest to invest for development of processing facilities that will process fresh fruit bunches (FFB) into palm oil. “They use more ecofriendly technology for processing palm oil. Currently, the processing technology applied in Indonesia is already out of date and produce high carbon emissions,” he said.
“I propose the use of new technology and and China had expressed their interest. They’re ready to bring in billions of US dollar to help our smallholders,” Sahat said when attending the opening ceremony of Palm Oil Expo Indonesia (Palmex) 2025 in JIEXPO Kemayoran, Jakarta, on Wednesday (14/5/2025).
According to Sahat, the investments of US$9.0 billion is planned to realize in stages during the next seven years starting from 2026. The investment fund will be focused on developing machines to process FFB. “Looking forward, we hope our smallholders will not only sell FFB, but also gain profit from selling carbon emissions managed to be reduced through the ecofriendly technology,” he said.
“Not only the FFB has economic value, but the fiber as well. We want to make our smallholders as also the main players. So that they become rich,” he said.
But Sahat said that the realization of the investments will depend on the government’s willingness to give license of carbon emission sale to foreign players, including those from China. “Until now there has been no institution or company formally allowed to sell carbon in Indonesia,” he said.
He said that DMSI has also planned to propose a change of name of crude palm oil (CPO) to degummed palm mesocarp oil (DPMO). “Its processing will be also changed from the initial use of steam to hot air for the sake of reducing carbon emission,” he said.
Based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the export value of CPO and derivative products in March 2025 reached US$2.19 billion, a decrease of 3.55% compared to that in February 2025. But yearly, the export value rose by 40.85% compared to that in March 2024 at only US$1.56 billion. (*)
