WASHINGTON, Feb 18 - Indonesian and U.S. companies on Wednesday finalized trade and investment agreements valued at more than $7 billion, the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council said, signing the deals at a dinner hosted by the Chamber a day before Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to sign a final trade deal.
The package of commitments includes significant commodity purchases by Indonesian firms. According to a U.S.-ASEAN Business Council fact sheet, those purchases encompass 1 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, 1.6 million tons of corn, and 93,000 tons of cotton, to be delivered over unspecified periods.
The council's fact sheet also says Indonesia will buy 1 million tons of wheat this year and could scale that to as much as 5 million tons by 2030. The announcements bundle agricultural procurement with strategic industry agreements aimed at strengthening commercial ties between the two countries.
On the industrial side, the deals include a memorandum of understanding between U.S. mining group Freeport McMoRan and the Indonesian Ministry of Investment for cooperation on critical minerals, the council said. In the energy sector, state oil producer Pertamina and Halliburton Co have agreed to cooperate on oilfield recovery, according to the same briefing.
Separately, the announcements referenced investment and trade commitments totaling in excess of $7 billion signed at the Chamber-hosted dinner for President Prabowo. The timing of the announcements - immediately before the scheduled bilateral signing - underlines the commercial momentum accompanying the political discussions between the two heads of state.
Investment and markets context
The agreements span several sectors: agriculture (soybeans, corn, cotton, wheat), mining and critical minerals, and oil and gas services related to oilfield recovery. Each component carries direct implications for trade flows and sector-level commercial activity between Indonesia and the United States.
Note on market commentary included in the announcement
The announcement package also included a market-oriented note about Halliburton: an AI-driven screening tool, ProPicks AI, was referenced as evaluating Halliburton (HAL) alongside thousands of companies using more than 100 financial metrics. The note said the tool looks beyond popularity to assess fundamentals, momentum and valuation, and cited past winners it identified, including Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%).
Key points
- More than $7 billion in trade and investment deals were signed at a Chamber-hosted dinner in Washington on Feb. 18.
- Indonesian firms committed to purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities: 1 million metric tons soybeans, 1.6 million tons corn, 93,000 tons cotton; wheat purchases total 1 million tons this year and up to 5 million tons by 2030.
- Commercial agreements include a Freeport McMoRan memorandum of understanding on critical minerals with Indonesia's Ministry of Investment and a Pertamina-Halliburton cooperation agreement on oilfield recovery.
Risks and uncertainties
- Timing and delivery schedules for the agricultural purchases were not specified, creating uncertainty for supply-chain and commodity market participants.
- The commercial memoranda and cooperation agreements do not specify implementation details or timelines, leaving execution risk for mining and energy collaborations.
- The proximity of the announcements to a high-level political signing could mean some commitments are contingent on subsequent political or regulatory steps.