After opening up 35 industrial sectors to foreign investment, the government plans to work on a new package to better organize the nation'€™s bureaucracies, which have long been a serious problem in the country.

Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said the latest economic policy package was the government'€™s largest package yet.

He admitted, however, that bureaucratic problems continued to plague Indonesia and had become a serious obstacle to attracting investment. In response, the government would simplify the nation'€™s bureaucracies in forthcoming packages.

"Maybe a month from now, there will be more packages designed to tweak licensing procedures and bureaucratic matters," he said at the State Palace in Jakarta on Thursday.

The sluggish economy, Darmin continued, had weakened investment. Therefore, Indonesia had undertaken special emergency measures such as deregulations and the issuance of various economic policy packages.

According to Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) executive director Enny Sri Hartati, negative investment list (DNI) revisions must be viewed from two sides; how to attract investment and how to make sure that changes contribute to the national interest.

'€œAt the same time, the government must provide legal certainty to the investors,'€ she said.

On Thursday, the government revealed its tenth economic policy package, designed to boost investment by revising the DNI. Thirty five sectors have been removed from the negative list and became open to foreign investment up to 100 percent ownership, while 20 others have been added.

"It's a package that the world has been waiting for. I can tell you that it is the biggest package yet of all the ten economic policy packages delivered so far,'€ Darmin claimed. (ags)(+)

Popular

Volcano erupts in North Sulawesi, hundreds evacuated

Dubai roads, airport reel from floods after record rains

Ramadan boosts consumer confidence, retail sales