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Amcham wants more flexibility in Indonesia's negative-investment list
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Motorists pass along a road below the first phase of the Depok-Antasari toll road's development in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, on April 1. (ANTARA FOTO/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
T
he American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) has called for the Indonesian government to create a more open business climate by allowing foreign investors to control more shares in businesses and help boost the economy.
“Our economic relationship is strong, but the opportunities that lie ahead are immense. The government plays an important role in facilitating economic growth by creating an attractive and open business climate,” said US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker in remarks during AmCham’s US-Indonesia Investment Initiative in Jakarta on Thursday.
Based on AmCham’s report of the US-Indonesia economic relationship, launched at the event, the low limit of shares allowed for foreign entities in the negative-investment list (DNI) resulted in hesitation among US investors despite the latest revision.
The government could unleash Indonesia's huge potential by allowing the best and most capable investors, regardless of whether they were foreign or local, to prove their worth amid a more flexible rule on ownership. As long as a company followed the law and payed its taxes, the ownership structure should be a secondary issue, Penny said.
Moreover, US Department of State’s deputy assistant secretary for international finance and development Lisa Kubicke hopes that Indonesia can create a more open business climate by revising some requirements. “Indonesia could eliminate local content requirements that discouraged investors,” she said.
US investors had approximately US$3 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia in 2015. They employed 124,000 local workers with total salaries and remuneration of $344 million, and paid $682.2 million in value-added taxes and 315.8 million corporate income tax last year. (ags)
