Encouraging innovation and collaboration were the key themes to emerge from AmCham Indonesia and the US Chamber of Commerce's Healthcare Mission, Healthcare Reboot: Post-Pandemic Strategies and Investment Opportunities, held both in-person at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Jakarta and online via Zoom on August 10-11.
US Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim opened the Mission expressing the hope it would "generate new ideas and initiatives" between US investors and potential investors and the Indonesian government.
Guest speakers included Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono, with an overview of the progress of Indonesia’s health care reform, along with the opportunities for the private sector to support new and existing investment opportunities in the healthcare sector; and representatives from the Halal Product Assurance Organizing Body (BPJPH); the Social Security Administration for Health; and the National Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM).
The Mission was part of the ongoing annual Initiative Indonesia program held by AmCham and the US Chamber to promote foreign direct investment in Indonesia, which will culminate in the annual Investment Summit to be held on Dec 6-8 and the release of the US-Indonesia Investment Report for 2022.
There were also a series of panel discussions between US company representatives and Indonesian government officials and industry stakeholders on various subjects, including US government programs and priorities for investment. Other panels included Building A Patient-Centric Innovative Ecosystem; Global Health Architecture: Future of Public Health According to the G20; Investment in Healthcare and Policy Priorities for the Private Sector; Healthcare Investment Opportunities in Indonesia’s Special Economic Zones; Healthcare Financing and Healthcare Digital Transformation.
From the US side, speakers included Marc Cook, Chief of the Trade and Investment Unit at the US Embassy; David Stanton, Deputy Health Director, USAID Indonesia; and Douglas Midland, Managing Director, USDFC Indonesia. From the private sector side Royston Lek, Executive Director, Asia Pacific, Mayo Clinic; and Mike Ybarra, Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs, PhRMA also spoke.
In her closing remarks, Shannon Haydon from the US Chamber praised the "informative speakers," and said the Mission gave a vital "sense of the complexities and scope of the challenges of investment in healthcare in Indonesia... [and that these] challenges should be seen as opportunities."
A Lin Neumann, Managing Director of AmCham Indonesia, underscored remaining challenges that need to be overcome. “The use of TKDN [local content] regulations to force companies to invest in sophisticated manufacturing could hold back drugs and treatments for Indonesian patients,” he said. “There is no ‘one way’ to promote investment and to deliver what’s best for Indonesian patients.”
Neumann called for more intensive dialogue between the health ministry and US companies. He said AmCham would take the lead on promoting such a dialogue. The offer was greeted warmly by deputy minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono and by several companies in the room.
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