Media

LINGGA, Riau Islands — The Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) has welcomed the planned investment by PT Tianshan Alumina Indonesia (TAI) in Todak, Batu Berdaun Village, Singkep District, Lingga Regency. APINDO views the large-scale investment as an important opportunity to stimulate regional economic growth while creating broader opportunities for local businesses and workers.

The position was conveyed during a dialogue and community engagement meeting involving the Lingga Community Alliance, APINDO, local business representatives, law enforcement authorities, and other stakeholders at Kedai Kopi Merdeka, Lingga, on Thursday (20/8/2026).

The meeting provided a forum for strengthening communication, aligning perspectives, and ensuring that the planned investment generates optimal benefits for the people and economy of Lingga.

APINDO emphasized that investment should not be measured solely by the amount of capital entering a region, but also by its ability to generate a broader multiplier effect across the local economy. Local business participation, human resource development, job creation, and opportunities for local businesses to enter the investment supply chain should therefore be prepared from the outset.

This view is consistent with the position of Lingga Community Alliance Chairman Armanto Arsyad, who stressed that local communities must be involved in the investment process.

“We do not want local people to merely become spectators. They must be prepared to contribute, particularly in terms of human resources and employment,” Armanto said.

According to APINDO, the statement underscores the importance of developing investment through an inclusive and partnership-based approach, ensuring that local communities are not merely recipients of development impacts but also active participants and beneficiaries of the economic opportunities created by investment.

In the employment sector, APINDO is prepared to support efforts to ensure that residents of Lingga have optimal opportunities to fill available positions arising from the investment.

APINDO hopes a target of up to 70 percent local workforce absorption can be encouraged, while still taking into account the company's requirements, competencies, qualifications, and applicable standards.

Such a target needs to be accompanied by workforce-needs mapping and improvements in local human resource capacity so that Lingga residents are adequately prepared to fill a range of positions required by the investment.

In this way, the investment would not only create jobs but also serve as a platform for improving the long-term skills and competitiveness of the local workforce.

APINDO also highlighted the importance of establishing clear communication mechanisms among investors, the regional government, employers' organizations, and the community. Such mechanisms are needed to match corporate workforce requirements with the availability and capabilities of local workers and businesses.

Beyond employment, APINDO is encouraging PT Tianshan's investment to create broader partnership opportunities for local businesses.

A network involving APINDO, the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI), the Indonesian National Construction Contractors Association (GAPENSI), the Indonesian National Construction Services Development Association (GAPEKSINDO), and GAPENAS is expected to become part of the investment-support ecosystem.

The network could open opportunities for local companies to participate as business partners, vendors, service providers, subcontractors, or human resource providers, subject to the requirements and standards established by the investor.

To support this effort, APINDO and its network of business organizations will encourage cooperation and prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as an instrument to strengthen partnerships between local businesses and the investor.

The cooperation is expected to go beyond administrative arrangements and produce concrete, measurable, and sustainable partnership models. Local businesses should be given opportunities to upgrade their capabilities through direct participation in the investment supply chain, while investors can benefit from a stronger and more professional local business ecosystem.

At the same time, APINDO has urged companies and business operators seeking to become partners of PT Tianshan to ensure from the outset that their legal and regulatory requirements are properly fulfilled.

Business entity documentation, permits and licenses, tax administration, business competencies, and other required qualifications must receive serious attention from prospective partners.

Such readiness is important to provide legal certainty and prevent administrative or legal issues that could disrupt business operations in the future.

APINDO believes local businesses must prepare themselves professionally to meet investor standards. This will ensure that partnership opportunities can genuinely be captured by local companies rather than being taken by businesses from outside the region due to shortcomings in administrative readiness or business capacity.

On the regulatory front, APINDO hopes the regional government will continue developing a conducive investment climate by providing business and licensing services that are accessible, efficient, transparent, accountable, and provide legal certainty.

Such facilitation does not mean lowering compliance standards. Rather, it means ensuring that administrative processes do not become unnecessary obstacles for investors or local businesses.

APINDO considers certainty and ease of doing business to be important factors in maintaining investor confidence. The regional government, business community, local residents, and law enforcement authorities need to share a common understanding that investment must be safeguarded so that it can operate in an orderly, secure, productive, and mutually beneficial manner.

This is also consistent with the message from the Lingga Police, which emphasized the importance of clear communication and representation in overseeing large-scale investment projects.

Lingga Police Criminal Investigation Unit Chief AKP Gede Santoso said a designated liaison would be needed to facilitate communication between the community and the investor.

“For an investment plan like this, a representative should be appointed to serve as a liaison with PT Tianshan Alumina Indonesia. With a clear liaison, communication and information-sharing can be more structured and help prevent misunderstandings,” he said.

According to APINDO, such a communication mechanism is essential to ensure that aspirations, needs, and potential problems can be conveyed through the appropriate channels and resolved through dialogue.

APINDO stressed that investment in Lingga should be directed toward generating a tangible multiplier effect. The investment is expected not only to increase corporate activity but also to stimulate other sectors of the local economy.

The greater the number of local businesses involved in the supply chain, the greater the potential economic circulation within Lingga. Likewise, increased local employment can contribute to higher household incomes and broader economic activity.

In the longer term, increased economic activity is also expected to contribute to the growth of Lingga's locally generated revenue (PAD) and strengthen the region's economic structure.

APINDO therefore encourages all stakeholders to view investment as a shared ecosystem rather than merely a relationship between investors and government. Local communities, businesses, employers' organizations, the regional government, and law enforcement authorities each have a role to play in creating a healthy investment climate.

APINDO reaffirmed its readiness to contribute to this process by serving as a bridge for communication among businesses, government, investors, and local entrepreneurs.

The association also called for every stage of the investment process to be carried out based on the principles of transparency, legal certainty, professionalism, and mutually beneficial partnerships.

With effective communication and clearly defined roles, potential misunderstandings and conflicts can be prevented from the outset. Conversely, constructive relationships can foster the mutual trust that is essential for sustainable investment.

APINDO hopes PT Tianshan Alumina Indonesia's planned investment can become a catalyst for economic growth in Lingga while opening a new chapter in strengthening the capacity of local businesses and workers.

Good investment is not merely about the capital that enters a region, but about how much added value remains and is ultimately felt by its people and the local economy.

APINDO believes that through synergy among investors, government, communities, business organizations, and law enforcement authorities, investment in Lingga can develop in a secure, productive, and sustainable manner while delivering broad benefits to the people and economy of the region.