Google set to expand its presence in Southeast Asia with Indonesian office

We just received an invitation from Google for the official opening ceremony to mark the launch of its operations in Indonesia. The event, which is taking place on March 30, will see the company finally open an office in Indonesia, after a protracted delay.

The event, which is scheduled to take place in the Kuningan district of Jakarta, will be attended by 2 ministers, Dr. Mari E. Pangestu, minister of travel & creative economy and Gita Wirjawan, minister of trade. According to Google’s details, the duo will talk about the significance of Google’s arrival and the implications that its presence has for the Internet industry in Indonesia.

Julian Persaud, who is Managing Director for Google Southeast Asia, is tasked with handling the opening ceremony for the event, which will also see the country head for Indonesia finally unveiled in public.

Daily Social broke the news of the appointment of former MNC director Rudy Ramawy, and he will head up Google’s operations in Indonesia alongside Krishna Zulkarnaen, who serves as Chief Marketing Officer.

Google has been engaged in discussions with Indonesia’s government for some time as it has tried to set up an office in the country to better service Indonesia’s 220 million population. Not having a presence there hasn’t stopped Google from running interesting projects in Indonesia, as it looks to build its presence in this emerging Internet space.

Indonesia will be Google’s fourth office in Southeast Asia. Last year it added presences in Thailand and Malaysia to its Singapore-based Asia Pacific headquarters. The additional of Indonesia is significant as the country is fast becoming a key market for Web firms, thanks to growing Web access among its massive population.