he Investment Coordinating Board's (BKPM) director for international business cooperation, Indra Darmawan, has said combating corruption is becoming a key part of the government’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business in Indonesia, asserting that corruption remains the major problem blocking the development of the country's global competitiveness.
He welcomed the Alliance for Integrity, a German government initiative launched on Thursday to help raise business integrity and compliance capacities, two aspects deemed crucial for combating corruption in Indonesia’s business sector.
"Business integrity is a very important subject matter we have always pushed forward in Indonesia," Indra said in Jakarta on Thursday.
Citing the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) report published on Wednesday, Indra said Indonesia's global competitiveness ranking fell to 41st out of 138 economies, from the previous 37th out of 140 economies in 2015.
He said an inefficient labor market and corruption were among the major reasons for the constant decline in Indonesia's competitiveness.
"The report says our macro economy is okay, compared to other countries. However, two issues, namely an inefficient labor market and corruption, remain problems here," Indra explained. "So, combating corruption is needed to improve the ease of doing business in our country."
In the report, the GCI applauds Indonesia's efforts to reform its business environment and praises the country for performing well in financial developments. The report also says Indonesia's macroeconomic environment remains satisfactory. However, corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency and policy inconsistency still pose major problems for doing business in Indonesia. (ebf)
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