Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.
Today's Headlines Foreign Ownership
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK), the government agency that regulates and supervises the country's financial services sector, may allow the plan of Japan-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) to acquire a 73.8 percent stake in Indonesian financial institution Bank Danamon Indonesia through subsidiary The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd (BTMU).
Few foreign investors invest in Indonesia's corporate bonds. Foreigners currently only hold seven percent of total outstanding corporate bonds in Indonesia. Salyadi Saputra, President Director of Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo), said this figure is too low. Ideally, it should be between 20 - 30 percent. Moreover, the percentage share of Indonesian corporate bonds that are in foreign hands has fallen over the past year. On 1 January 2016 foreigners still held 7.29 percent of total outstanding corporate bonds in Indonesia.
The Indonesian government now allows private investors to develop oil refineries in Indonesia, effectively ending state-owned energy Pertamina's (virtual) monopoly. Before this new regulation, private companies had to cooperate with Pertamina to build oil refineries in Southeast Asia's largest economy. The new policy is an effort to boost domestic oil refinery capacity in Indonesia (hence limiting the need for refined fuel imports) and improve the investment climate by opening this industry to the private sector. This sector can also apply for tax incentives.
Bank Indonesia curbed foreign ownership in local companies that offer electronic payment services to a 20 percent stake through the implementation of Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 18/40/PBI/2016 on the Operation of Payment Transaction Processing. Central Bank Governor Agus Martowardojo said this new regulation will strengthen the development of technology-based financial services firms in Indonesia by enhancing the sector's regulatory framework amid growing interest in financial technology.
The government of Indonesia has expressed its concern about rising foreign debt. Indonesian President Joko Widodo summoned Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution for a meeting to express his concern about the issue. In particular the high degree of foreign ownership of Indonesian securities needs attention as foreign ownership of government bonds has reached a new record high. Therefore, analysts say Indonesia needs to optimize government revenue (for example by reforming the nation's tax system) rather than depend on loans and bonds.
The government of Indonesia is again opening room for foreign ownership in a number of sectors in an effort to boost economic expansion and reach the 7 percent year-on-year (y/y) gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate by 2019 as targeted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Examples of sectors that are to be opened for the full 100 percent to foreign ownership are the cold storage business, crumb rubber industry, sport-centers, film production industry, restaurants, raw materials for medicines, toll roads, and telecommunication equipment. These revisions are part of Indonesia's 10th economic stimulus package.
The Indonesian government announced it plans to allow 100 percent foreign ownership of cold storage businesses, sugar factories, rubber manufacturing companies, and the e-commerce business by revising Presidential Regulation No. 39/2014 on the Negative Investment List. The Negative Investment List (in Indonesian: Daftar Negatif Investasi) lists the sectors that are either fully or partially closed to foreign investment. Meanwhile, the government is studying whether other sectors can also be opened (or opened up wider) to foreign investors.
Indonesia's Cabinet Secretary announced on Tuesday (12/01) that Indonesian President Joko Widodo signed a government regulation on 22 December 2015 (Government Regulation No. 103/2015 on House Ownership of Foreigners Residing in Indonesia) that allows foreigners to own landed houses in Indonesia for a period up to 80 years. This regulation is designed by the Indonesian government in order to provide more legal certainty to foreigners regarding property ownership.
After having been limited to 40 percent for the last three years, foreign investors are now allowed to control a more-than-40 percent stake in Indonesian banks, provided that they buy two local banks and merge them into one. Indonesia's financial authorities gave the green light to two foreign banks (China Construction Bank Corporation and the South Korea-based Shinhan Bank) that seek to tap Indonesia's lucrative banking sector.
Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro is completing a study related to the possibility of allowing foreign ownership of property in Indonesia. In a bid to generate more state revenue through taxation, the Indonesian government may allow foreigners (expats) to own luxurious (residential) apartments in the bigger cities of Indonesia. These apartments should be worth at least IDR 5 billion (approx. USD $375,940) according to current proposals. Brodjonegoro emphasized that expats will not be allowed to own landed houses.
Latest Columns Foreign Ownership
The Indonesian government set a 80 percent cap on foreign ownership in Indonesian insurance companies through Government Regulation No. 14/2018 on Foreign Ownership of Insurance Companies. Suahasil Nazara, Fiscal Policy Head at Indonesia's Finance Ministry, said foreigners can remain controlling a big stake (up to 80 percent) in the domestic insurance industry because it is believed that domestic insurance players still need the knowledge and capital that strategic foreign investors bring from abroad.
In the first two weeks of February 2018 foreign investors aggressively sold rupiah-denominated government bonds (in Indonesian: Surat Berharga Negara, or SBN) in the secondary market. Up to 14 February 2018, foreign investors sold IDR 18.69 trillion (approx. USD $1.4 billion) worth of government bonds in February.
Indonesia opened the property market to those foreigners who reside (legally) in Indonesia. However, it also set tough requirements regarding foreign ownership of Indonesian property. Moreover, it remains nearly impossible for expats to obtain a local mortgage to finance the purchase of property. Although local credit may actually not be attractive for foreigners as interest rates are high in Indonesia, it is interesting to take a closer look at why Indonesian banks reject to sell mortgages to foreigners and whether foreigners are actually enticed to buy property in Indonesia?
No business profiles with this tag
