Anton Hermansyah, Jakarta – Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Thomas Trikasih Lembong has promised to delist more sectors from the negative investment list (DNI) after holding a discussion with relevant ministries.
"President Joko Widodo has promised a second, third, and fourth [DNI] revision. But in regard to the details about which sectors they are, I need to discuss with other ministries, through some bureaucratic procedures," he said at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Thursday in Jakarta.
Thomas was responding to a US Chamber of Commerce recommendation in the US-Indonesia Investment Initiative 2016. Overall, according to the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) Indonesia report, US investors had praised the government's move to reduce the DNI recently, but wanted more revisions to follow.
US Chamber of Commerce executive vice president Myron A. Brilliant told The Jakarta Post that his institution wanted to see that negative investment list continue to shrink. "That would be a positive measure for doing business here," he said.
The government should further liberalize the financial services, oil and gas, e-commerce, and educational services sectors, he added. Those are the four sectors in which many US companies have expertise.
In the government's 10th economic policy package, which was released in January, the medicine ingredients, tourism and creative industries were removed from the DNI. During the announcement, President Jokowi promised more DNI revisions in the future. (ags)