Indonesia Considers Rebranding as ‘South-South-East Singapore’ to Boost Investment Appeal
Indonesia eyes investor attention with new name proposal: 'South-South-East Singapore.' Can rebranding attract more global capital?
JAKARTA — In a bid to better align itself with foreign investor expectations, Indonesia has announced preliminary consultations on a national rebranding effort under the proposed name “South-South-East Singapore.”
Officials say the new name will “better reflect Indonesia’s ambitions to be noticed by people who can find Singapore on a map but still think Jakarta is a clothing brand.”
According to a white paper authored by a respected global consultancy, the name “Indonesia” does not perform well in key investor segments.
“Focus groups of mid-level investment analysts based in London, New York, and Palo Alto largely associated the name with ‘long flights,’ ‘beaches,’ and ‘a place my yoga instructor went on sabbatical,’” the report reads. “None associated it with economic fundamentals, energy transition, or fiscal discipline.”
One unnamed Singapore-based VC partner, interviewed for the study, confirmed the confusion:
“Indonesia? I think I flew over that once. Looked damp. Isn’t that where Bali is?”
The paper recommended a rebrand to something “more proximity-optimized,” ideally referencing Singapore directly.
One official, speaking anonymously, admitted that part of the problem stems from the “international investor class’ deep fear of ambiguity, nuance, and multi-island governance.”
“When investors look at Indonesia, what they see is complexity,” he said. “What they want is a nice tight rectangle with a GDP-to-governance ratio that fits cleanly into a McKinsey chart.”
By associating more directly with Singapore, Indonesia hopes to borrow credibility through regional proximity and branding symmetry.
Other proposed aesthetic changes include:
Moving Jakarta 10% closer to Singapore on official maps to create “psychological adjacency”
An adjustment of government communiqués to include phrases like “strategically located just beneath Singapore”
A full-color tourism campaign entitled: “Imagine Singapore, Now Multiply It by 17,000”
Officials also hinted that while the country’s legal name would remain “Indonesia” domestically, it may adopt the branding “SSS” (South-South-East Singapore) for international roadshows and World Economic Forum panels.
Not everyone is pleased.
Critics have described the proposal as “deeply unserious,” and “a masterclass in geopolitical insecurity.” Nationalist lawmakers in the DPR argued that the move “reeks of branding-based inferiority,” and asked whether next year’s Independence Day would involve fireworks or simply a well-curated investor newsletter.
“It’s one thing to want more investment,” said economist Firman Lasmana, “but renaming yourself after your neighbor is the economic equivalent of changing your LinkedIn name to ‘Jeff Bezos Jr.’”
Nonetheless, early investor response has been cautiously optimistic.
One hedge fund manager based in Hong Kong told reporters,
“Look, if calling it ‘South-South-East Singapore’ makes our LPs feel better, we’ll update our pitch decks tomorrow.”
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