JAKARTA: South-East Asia’s booming digital economy will translate into lasting economic power only if countries can retain more of the value created by digital platforms and artificial intelligence, Indonesian Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said.
Speaking at the Asia Economic Summit in Jakarta on Wednesday (June 17), Meutya said rapid growth alone was not enough if profits, data and economic gains continued to flow overseas.
“We have seen regions grow their digital economies, while the real value flows out to platforms headquartered far away,” she said.
Indonesia’s digital economy is expected to grow from around US$100 billion (S$128 billion) today to as much as US$360 billion by 2030, said Meutya.
She added that the wider Asean digital economy could expand from about US$300 billion currently to US$2 trillion by 2030 if the proposed Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) is implemented.
Asean member states are set to sign the DEFA in November after negotiations for the landmark agreement concluded in May.
But Meutya added that bigger numbers do not automatically translate into greater economic strength. Instead, Indonesia wants digitalisation to generate what she described as “value retention” and “productivity spillovers” into the real economy.
That means ensuring a larger share of the value created by digital activity remains within local economies, while helping sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries and small businesses become more productive through technology adoption.
“Put simply, we intend to keep more of what we earn,” Meutya said, adding that the goal was not merely to build successful digital platforms, but to ensure that ordinary businesses and workers also benefit from technological advances.
Her remarks come as governments across the region compete to attract investment in AI, cloud computing and digital infrastructure.
Meutya also warned that while AI could accelerate growth and productivity, it could deepen inequalities and expose countries to new risks if access and capabilities remain uneven across the region.
As AI systems become more powerful, data becomes increasingly valuable. Meanwhile, the rise of deepfakes and other forms of digital fraud has lowered the cost of creating misinformation, she said.
She added that Asean countries must ensure they remain active participants rather than mere consumers in shaping the technology.
“So if our data is controlled by others, we can be sure that our future will be shaped by others. If global models never learn our languages and our values, the region risks losing its own identity altogether,” she said. - The Straits Times/ANN
