Media

BALIKPAPAN – The Provincial Leadership Council (DPP) of the Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) East Kalimantan officially held the 2026 APINDO East Kalimantan Provincial Work Meeting and Consultation (Rakerkonprov) on Friday (October 2, 2026), in Balikpapan.

The forum served as an important opportunity to strengthen organizational consolidation, expand collaboration, and translate APINDO’s national strategic agenda into priorities for the business community in East Kalimantan.

APINDO National Leadership Council (DPN) Deputy Chairman for Organizational Affairs, Muliawan Margadana, said APINDO Chairman Shinta Widjaja Kamdani had highlighted East Kalimantan’s increasingly strategic position in the national economy.

In the second quarter of 2026, East Kalimantan’s economy grew by 3.35 percent year-on-year (yoy) and contributed 46.70 percent to the formation of regional value added across Kalimantan.

The growth was supported by the Accommodation and Food Services sector on the production side, which grew 13.79 percent, as well as exports of goods and services on the expenditure side, which increased by 6.72 percent.

However, the business community continues to face complex challenges, including global economic fragmentation, geopolitical dynamics, production and logistics costs, energy issues, regulatory pressures, and weakening purchasing power.

In the employment sector, East Kalimantan recorded approximately 101,000 unemployed people, with an Open Unemployment Rate (TPT) of 5.24 percent as of May 2026. Meanwhile, informal-sector workers still accounted for around 893,000 people, or 44.39 percent of the workforce.

“Economic growth must not stop at headline figures. Growth must be translated into more productive jobs, stronger businesses, and broader economic opportunities,” Muliawan Margadana said, accompanied by APINDO East Kalimantan Chairman Dr. Abriantinus, S.H., M.A.

APINDO East Kalimantan is being encouraged to evolve into a knowledge-driven organization, with decisions and advocacy grounded in data and knowledge.

Through systematic data collection covering issues such as licensing barriers, the high cost of doing business, employment challenges, and the investment climate, the concerns and experiences of local businesses will be transformed into data, the data into recommendations, and the recommendations into concrete policies through the Task Force Debottlenecking mechanism.

APINDO also emphasized the importance of collaboration based on the spirit of “Ruhui Rahayu,” a principle that progress should be built through harmony and togetherness.

The advancement of East Kalimantan requires synergy among three pillars: the government, which provides legal certainty and a conducive business ecosystem; the business community, which creates investment and employment; and workers, who contribute through their skills, labor, and innovation.

The event was also attended by a number of distinguished guests and representatives of government institutions, including Secretary of the East Kalimantan Provincial Manpower and Transmigration Office Aji Syahdu Gagah Citra, representing the Governor of East Kalimantan; Colonel Inf. Cecep Agus Boediono; AKBP Melki Barata; Head of the East Kalimantan Regional State Intelligence Agency (Kabinda), Brigadier General TNI Priyanto Eko Widodo; Deputy Director of Intelligence and Security at the East Kalimantan Regional Police, AKBP Maliki Barata; Assistant for Economic, Development and People's Welfare Affairs at the Balikpapan City Regional Secretariat, Ir. Andi Muhammad Yusri Ramli, S.T., M.T.; Head of the Balikpapan City Manpower Office, Adamin Siregar, S.Kom., M.Eng.; Chairman of the Balikpapan City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), Noval Asfihani, B.B.A.; and Chairman of the Balikpapan branch of the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI), Adam Dustin Bhakti.