- Less than an hour by ferry from Singapore, Batam Center Point International Ferry Terminal is the entry point for Singaporeans doing business in Indonesia’s free trade zone Batam.
- For years, it has been a busy terminal with crowds of people arriving and departing the harbour daily. But everything changed when COVID-19 struck in early 2020.
- “Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I could see the constant flow of people at the harbour from my office. Now it is deserted,” said BP Batam acting chairman Mr Purwiyanto, who goes by one name. BP Batam, an agency under the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, oversees the Batam free trade zone.
- The lack of activity could be seen as a possible indicator of how the pandemic has disrupted business between Singapore and Batam, even while the city state remains the biggest investor in Indonesia.
- For Batam, investments from Singapore have decreased from US$123.47 million in 2019 to US$81.15 million in the first three quarters of 2020, according to BP Batam.
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