The plan – nicknamed ‘Johor Project’ – sees the close neighbors working in concert to develop Indonesia’s agriculture industry. The fund’s [Danantara sovereign wealth fund] boss Rosan Roeslani unveiled the Australia-backed project at the 2026 Indonesia Economic Outlook, a forum the government held to convince investors that the country was on the right track.
The Johor Project is expected to ‘develop the technologies, export networks, and the best practices of the food industry’. Despite the name being of the Malaysian state, it does not automatically mean that the agricultural industry will be built there.
It had only been a week since Danantara sealed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Australian government to augment two-way investments. Its signing took place during Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip to Jakarta. Under the MoU, Danantara agreed to explore investment opportunities in agribusiness, energy, and mining, among other things.
Indonesia amassed nearly $1.5 billion worth of Australian investment last year, some $26.5 million of which had gone to the sub-category of food crops, plantations, and livestock. The Government Communications Agency estimated Indonesian investors had put around $1.42 billion in Australia in 2024. The Trade Ministry named Australia as one of Indonesia’s wheat and meat suppliers, with imports reaching $1.3 billion and $482.1 million, respectively.