Luhut regrets govt ban on dot-com investors<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut Pandjaitan
\nsaid on Tuesday the recent ban of foreign investors in the
\ncountry's nascent Internet sector was against the government's
\ndrive to attract foreign funds.<\/p>\n
The minister said the policy was a mistake and should be
\nreviewed if Indonesia really wants to win back foreign investors'
\nconfidence.<\/p>\n
\"It should not have happened at a time when we're actually
\nstriving to get foreign investors to return to the country. If it
\n(the decree) only causes problem, we'd better revise it,\" he told
\njournalists on the sidelines of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly (MPR) Annual Session.<\/p>\n
Luhut said he was not aware if the initiative to place the
\nsector or Internet-based services on the negative investment list
\ncame from the Directorate General of Domestic Trade, which is
\nunder his control.<\/p>\n
He said he would have to find out more information on the
\ncontents of the decree and to check whether his office was
\ninvolved in the controversial policy.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Forum of the Indonesian Internet Industry
\n(FIII) also called on the government to revise the controversial
\ndecree by removing the sector from the negative list for foreign
\ninvestment.<\/p>\n
The forum said in a statement that the ban would only destroy
\nthe future of the country's Internet sector.<\/p>\n
\"Our Internet sector is still in the early development stages.
\nIf it can grow at such a rapid rate, that is because the players,
\nmost of whom are medium and small-scale enterprises, are getting
\nfinancial and technological support from foreign investors,\" the
\nforum said.<\/p>\n
The government issued on July 20 Presidential Decree No.
\n96\/2000, which states that some business sectors, including all
\nInternet-related services such as Internet service providers,
\nInternet content providers, portals and e-commerce service
\ncompanies, are restricted from direct foreign investment.<\/p>\n
The government issued a new investment policy last week
\nbanning the entry of foreign investors in the country's Internet-
\nrelated companies.<\/p>\n
Riza Primadi, the senior assistant on communications and media
\nto the Minister of Investment and State Enterprises, earlier said
\nthat the restriction was important to protect the local dot-coms
\nfrom foreign dominance.<\/p>\n
He said the newly developed e-commerce business had been put
\non the negative list for foreign investment under a
\nrecommendation from the Directorate General of Domestic Trade of
\nthe Ministry of Industry and Trade.<\/p>\n
However, FIII, which groups 36 local Internet-based firms,
\nsuch as Agrakom, Asiapot.com and Indo.com, said the government
\nshould revise the decree and declare the Internet industry open
\nto foreign investment.<\/p>\n
\"It is just impossible to support the Internet sector by
\nprotecting it from foreign investors. If the government really
\nwants to help, it should open the industry up to foreign
\ninvestors,\" the forum said. (bkm\/cst)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/luhut-regrets-govt-ban-on-dot-com-investors-1447893297",
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