Indonesia parliament passes new laws to spur investments
21 Mar 2023 09:31pm
The regulation was issued by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in December, with an aim to create a quality business and investment climate for small and medium entrepreneurs and foreign investors in Southeast Asia's largest economy amid fears of a possible global recession.
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The regulation was issued by President Joko Widodo in December, with an aim to create a quality business and investment climate for small and medium entrepreneurs and foreign investors in Southeast Asia's largest economy amid fears of a possible global recession.
Indonesia has set an investment target of 1,400 trillion Indonesian rupiahs (about US$91.28 billion) this year, up from last year's target of 1,200 trillion rupiahs.
The new law is expected to offer more convenience for domestic and foreign investors doing business across the country, reported Xinhua.
Meanwhile, Sputnik reported that the lower house of the Indonesian parliament voted to pass a law that will facilitate foreign investment into the country's economy but prune down some benefits hitherto enjoyed by the country's working population.
The changes under the new law encompass cutting severance benefits, lowering minimum wage limits, abolishing mandatory pay leave, as well as relaxing rules concerning environmental inspections for foreign investors, it quoted the Indonesian newspaper Jakarta Post.
The new law will replace the one adopted in 2020 and ruled partially unconstitutional, the newspaper reported, adding that the change initiative came directly from Widodo.
The law was appreciated by foreign investors as optimising business regulation but was criticised by trade unions and environmental activists for being excessively pro-business.
In recent years, the Indonesian government has been striving to attract foreign investment to the country, which became even more important as means of mitigating the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the World Bank's 2020 Doing Business report Indonesia was ranked 73 out of 190 economies judging by the ease of doing business there. The report is based on the indicators of the ease of doing business in a country, including the protection of investors. -Bernama/Agencies
