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RI needs to ease import rules to attract investment: Korean firms
Korean firms say Indonesia’s many import regulations are keeping potential foreign investment out of the country.
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A worker cuts an iron bar at Belawan International Container Terminal in Medan, North Sumatra, on July 15, 2022. (Antara/Fransisco Carolio)
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font size="3">Indonesia will need to ease a number of import regulations if it wants to attract more investment, Korean firms have said, challenging the government to address the issue.
The import regulations in question include local content requirement (TKDN), import permits and the national commodity balance (SINAS NK), a policy deemed to have disrupted supplies of imported raw materials, thereby hampering manufacturing and export activities of local firms.
“While these regulations are designed to protect domestic industries, they also create difficulties for foreign companies, including Korean ones,” Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kocham) Indonesia chairman Lee Kang Hyun told The Jakarta Post in an interview on Monday.
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Lee went on to say that while the government had taken steps to address those challenges, some issues persisted and more needed to be done to make it easier for foreign investors to navigate the regulatory landscape.
Indonesia’s high capital requirements also posed a barrier to entry for Korean firms looking to set up shop in in the country, Lee said, expressing his hope that the government could make a way for small and medium Korean companies with advanced technology to explore opportunities with Indonesian partners.
Lee stressed that more Korean investment could come to Indonesia through a government-to-government (G2G) approach focused on each country’s strengths in particular industries and technology.
