Made Anthony Iswara, Batu, East Java – The Trade Ministry will revise 18 ministerial regulations considered to be hampering exports and investments while possibly revoking some of them, officials said on Wednesday.
"Of the 18 Trade Ministry regulations, 11 relate to imports while seven regulate exports [...] We'll revoke some of them if needed," Trade Ministry foreign trade director general Indrasari Wisnu said during a press briefing in Batu, East Java.
Among them is a law on regulating investments, known as gross fixed capital formation (PMTB), with a revision is set to conclude before the end of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's first term on Oct. 20, he added.
During the briefing, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita also hinted at a revision of a 2018 ministerial regulation on used capital goods imports.
"Used capital goods would no longer need [the Trade Ministry's] recommendation for investment purposes, so we would automatically give out licenses," Enggartiasto said, adding that such recommendations added to the complexity of doing business, with investors having to wait up to one year to obtain a recommendation for such a license.
The step, he said, was crucial for Indonesia to benefit from investment influxes as a result of industry relocations from foreign countries.
According to a recent World Bank report, Indonesia is struggling to attract foreign investments, which are instead going to neighboring countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia as they embark on deregulation and policy solutions.
Indonesia's net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows only accounted for 1.9 percent of GDP last year, compared to 11.8 percent booked by Cambodia and 5.9 percent by Vietnam, the bank's data shows.
Between June and August, 33 Chinese companies announced plans to set up or expand production abroad, of which 23 are going to Vietnam and the remaining 10 to Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Serbia and Thailand, the World Bank report revealed.