Amid the impending Asean single market, Indonesia is moving in an opposite, protectionist direction Indonesia's recent economic policy pronouncements indicate that the country will become increasingly protectionist as President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's government heads for its second year. Foreign investors are wary that Jokowi might bow to strong political pressure to restrict imports in favour of local production.

Indonesia's economic growth in the second quarter dropped to its slowest since 2009, with prices for commodity and energy exports remaining weak and President Joko Widodo unable to push badly needed infrastructure projects past bureaucratic snarls. Southeast Asia's largest economy expanded 4.67% in April-June compared to the same period a year ago, better than a Reuters poll forecast of 4.61%, but still below the revised estimate of 4.72% growth for the January-March quarter.