TheJakartaPost
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In agriculture, the bill may make way for two major breakthroughs: a more conducive environment for investments and a more liberalized food trade. There is huge potential for the proposed policies to improve the agriculture sector, but they also come with risks.
Chapter 10 on central government investment and national strategic projects in the draft bill mandates the establishment of a “special authority” agency led by the finance minister, a vehicle that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has described as a sovereign wealth fund.
The full scale of United States investment in Indonesia is not often evident from official government figures. Statistics from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) only attributed US$7.78 billion worth of investments to the US from 2013 to 2017. This is far from a complete picture.
Given its huge economy and labor force, Indonesia should be getting the lion’s share of investment moving out of China. But it isn’t. The new administration should acknowledge that Indonesia can learn from its regional neighbors, starting with its mindset toward foreign investment. Too many officials treat foreign investors with a “they need us more than we need them” attitude or assume that companies cannot afford to overlook Indonesia because of its market size. This mentality must change.
