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No country can expect investment 'red carpet'
Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Tuesday that the ministry would “never” offer preferential treatment to any foreign firm if no law or regulation compelled it to do so.
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The smelter facility of PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) in North Morowali, Central Sulawesi. (The Jakarta Post/PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry)
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nvestment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has expressed regret over a recent deadly riot at a Chinese-operated smelting facility in Central Sulawesi but has claimed, following Chinese requests for increased security and “policy facilitation”, that the government will not give special treatment to any investor.
Bahlil said on Tuesday that the ministry would “never” offer preferential treatment to any foreign firm if no law or regulation compelled it to do so.
The riot, which broke out on Jan. 14 at a facility in Morowali, South Sulawesi, run by PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), claimed the lives of a Chinese national and an Indonesian worker, attracting the scrutiny of officials from both countries.
“There should not be one more word about us giving the red carpet to certain foreign investors,” Bahlil said at a press conference.
Read also: Police probe deadly clash at nickel smelter
Indonesia’s economic policy, he said, would follow the same “free and active” doctrine that governed its foreign policy.
The doctrine seeks to prevent the country from wedding itself to any major world power so that it can independently determine its stances on the international stage.
