The Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 24/2020 comes as the government searches for ways to facilitate doing business in Indonesia, increase competitiveness among regional peers and stoke investment, job and economic growth.

According to the Perpres, the five new expert staff members will be in charge of investment competitiveness, macroeconomics, institutional relationships, priority sector investment development, information technology and system integration.

The names of the new expert staff will be submitted to the President by the BKPM head for approval and will serve until Bahlil’s tenure is over.

“Expert staff work under and report to the BKPM head and are coordinated administratively by the main secretary,” the new regulation stated.

Meanwhile, up to five new specialized staff members will have different task and functions as required by BKPM head and the six BKPM deputies will be in charge of investment planning, investment climate development, investment promotion, investment partnership, investment services and investment administration control.

The regulation was issued on Jan. 27 and came into effect immediately.

Bahlil previously said he was ready to resign if the country’s ease of doing business (EODB) rank did not reach the top 50 in the next four years.

Read also: BKPM head vows to resign if fails to improve Indonesia's doing business rank

Indonesia ranked 73rd in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report released in October of last year. The country’s rank has stagnated since 2018, while neighbors Malaysia and Thailand have fared better at 12th and 21st place, respectively.

The World Bank report highlights Indonesia’s rigid regulations on employment and minimum wage.

In terms of competitiveness to attract foreign investment, Indonesia slipped five positions to 50th place of the 141 countries on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report 2019. Malaysia and Thailand ranked 27th and 40th, respectively.

Bahlil said in a press briefing on Jan. 29 that he would narrow more than 20 investment requirements down to 17 to further ease both foreign and domestic investment.

“I am 90 percent to 100 percent sure that with the regulatory simplification, Indonesia’s doing business rank can go up,” he said.

The government is currently planning to encourage investment and create more jobs through omnibus bills on job creation and taxation. If passed, the bills are expected to cut regulatory red tape to attract investment to help boost the country’s sluggish economic growth.

Read also: It’s official: BKPM to handle all licenses, review policies unfavorable for investors

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo issued in November Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 7/2019 on the acceleration of ease of doing business (EODB), which streamlines all business licensing through the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). It also grants the agency the authority to review policies deemed unfavorable to investors.