Indonesia Investments Report - January 2021 Edition: COVID-19 Crisis to Linger On?
Update COVID-19 in Indonesia: 1,298,608 confirmed infections, 35,014 deaths (23 February 2021)
23 February 2021 (closed)
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Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.
Today's Headlines Bureaucracy
For the past couple of months we have frequently heard President Joko Widodo and other top government officials refer to the upcoming omnibus laws as key tools or solutions to improve the quality and attractiveness of Indonesia’s investment environment.
On Sunday 14 July 2019 Indonesian President Joko Widodo unveiled his vision for Indonesia in the 2019-2024 period, which will be his second – and final - term as president of Southeast Asia’s largest economy (with the inauguration of his new cabinet scheduled for late-October 2019).
Next week, Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) plans to launch an upgraded version of its Online Single Submission (OSS) system. The OSS system is a web-based business licensing system that aims at cutting the red tape that is involved when investors try to obtain business permits in Indonesia. Massive red tape is considered to be one of the major obstacles in Indonesia's investment climate.
Hariyadi Sukamdani, Chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said investors continue to complain about the difficulty of obtaining all necessary investment permits in the regions of Indonesia even though, generally, there has been an improvement in the degree of bureaucracy under the Joko Widodo administration.
Not the lack of (soft and hard) infrastructure development in Indonesia, or the lack of quality human resources, nor corruption or protectionism but the difficulty to obtain the necessary permits from the local governments are the biggest obstacle to investment and business in Indonesia according to a survey that was conducted by the Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD) in the 32 regional capital cities across the Archipelago.
For a company it is very difficult to start activities in Indonesia's upstream oil and gas sector. As a result, not unoften, activities related to exploration and production are delayed. This is the major reason why Indonesia's oil production has been declining for the past two decades, while Indonesia's gas production today does not differ much from production one decade ago. Why is it difficult for an oil and gas company to get started in Indonesia?
Recently, most attention has been paid to Indonesia's tax amnesty program launched last Monday (18/07), while the 12 economic policy packages - released between September 2015 and April 2016 by the Indonesian government - have been pushed to the background. These packages, which include tax incentives, deregulation, and somewhat open foreign investment opportunities in Indonesia, were implemented in a bid to boost Indonesia's economic growth. However, according to the latest information, not all 12 economic stimulus packages have been implemented in full force.
The Indonesian government released the 12th economic policy package on Thursday (28/04). This latest edition focuses on enhancing the ease of doing business for the small and mid-sized companies in Indonesia in a bid to attract more investment, hence giving a boost to economic growth. In the 12th package the government announces it has cut a number of procedures and permits, as well as costs, required for the development of a business. Indonesia's Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution unveiled the package on Thursday in Jakarta's Presidential Palace.
Indonesia improved 11 positions in the World Bank Doing Business 2016 ranking. Southeast Asia's largest economy jumped from rank 120 in the (revised) 2015 index to 109 in the 2016 ranking. The 'Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency' is an annual flagship publication of the World Bank, monitoring the regulations that enhance the ease of doing business in the following areas: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
Earlier this month the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that Indonesia will require an additional 3,100 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas supplies in the next five years to meet domestic gas demand for the country’s power stations and fertilizer plants. About 1,100 mmscfd of gas is needed for Indonesia’s plan to establish 13,400 MW of gas-fired power stations by 2020. A further 2,000 mmscfd is needed to fuel fertilizer plants in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Latest Columns Bureaucracy
Better late than never! On 10 April 2020 large-scale social restrictions were imposed in the capital city of Jakarta through Jakarta Gubernatorial Regulation No. 33/2020, and Jakarta Gubernatorial Decree No. 380/2020. The regulation and decree, which both aim at curtailing the further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Jakarta, were imposed around five weeks after the very first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Indonesia (namely in Depok, a city located within the Jakarta metropolitan area).
Red tape or excessive bureaucracy is an obstacle to economic and social development in Indonesia. Over the past decades, the country missed out on billions of (US) dollars because investors decided to withdraw their investment plans in Indonesia. Excessive bureaucracy is one of the often mentioned reasons.
Again, oil and gas contractors in Indonesia urge the government to clean up bureaucracy (red tape) in this sector in order to make the investment climate more attractive, and hence trigger more (much-needed) investment in Indonesia's oil and gas industry.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo unveiled the 16th economic policy package on Thursday morning (31/08) at the Indonesia stock Exchange building in Jakarta. This latest package aims to create an integrated licensing system. It also deals with strict supervision for the transition from the manual licensing system to an online system.
Infrastructure is the artery of the economy. Blocked arteries are life threatening. Similarly, when there is a lack of adequate infrastructure within the economy (whether in terms of quality or quantity) the economy will run in a highly inefficient manner due to high logistics costs, uncompetitive businesses (as the costs of doing business rise significantly), as well as social injustice when, for example, it is difficult for part of the population to reach healthcare facilities, or, for children to reach a school.
Donald Trump becoming next US president in January 2017 will not affect foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indonesia according to the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM). Trump's election caused a huge wave of uncertainty in financial markets worldwide. However, the BKPM remains committed to its investment realization targets (including both domestic and foreign direct investment) of IDR 594.8 trillion (approx. USD $44.7 billion) in 2016 and IDR 631.5 trillion (approx. USD $47.5 billion) in 2017.
Indonesia is not the easiest place to invest for foreign investors. This is reflected by the World Bank's Doing Business 2014 index in which Indonesia ranks 120th. In a business forum, held last week in Beijing, Chinese businessmen expressed a number of matters that blocked or seriously delayed their investments in Indonesia. For Indonesia (both domestic and foreign) investment realization, particularly in infrastructure, is important as investments is considered the main driver for the country’s economic growth in 2016.
Indonesia is facing the risk of becoming a net importer of energy by 2019 as the nation’s energy demand will reach 6.19 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) whereas the domestic energy supply will only reach 6.04 million boepd by that year. Provided that the economy of Indonesia remains expanding at a pace of +5 percent (year-on-year) while investments in energy exploration do not rise accordingly, Southeast Asia’s largest economy will become dependent on foreign energy supplies.
A total of 35 American companies are interested to invest a combined USD $61 billion in Indonesia over the next five years according to a survey conducted by the Paramadina Public Policy Institute, the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (AmCham Indonesia), the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia). These 35 US companies have already invested a total of USD $65 billion in Indonesia over the period 2004 to 2012.
President Joko Widodo’s unexpected visit to the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) on Tuesday (28/10) signals that the new president of Indonesia is serious about wiping out severe bureaucracy that causes time-consuming and difficult procedures to obtain permits, licenses and certificates in a bid to ease doing business in Indonesia for both foreign and domestic investors. Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, is eager to tackle the country’s ‘red-tape’ problem as it curtails the pace of economic growth in Indonesia.
