Finance Minister: PFII to Focus Not Only on Financial Sector but Also Real Sector

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the establishment of the Indonesian International Financial Centre (PFII) is not only aimed at gathering financial sector activities but also at strengthening the real sector. With this, the establishment of the PFII will encourage increased productive investment that creates jobs and strengthens national economic growth. “The establishment of the Indonesian International Financial Centre aims, among other things, to enhance Indonesia’s competitiveness as an international financial centre to strengthen national economic sovereignty,” Purbaya said during a working meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Monday. He added that the PFII is intended to encourage the deepening and innovation of the financial sector, as well as to attract investment and business players from both national and international financial sectors. It will also facilitate financing for the real sector, national strategic projects, sustainable financing, climate financing, infrastructure financing, and other types of financing. Furthermore, the PFII aims to increase equitable economic opportunities, technology transfer, job creation, and the enhancement of Indonesia’s human resource capacity. Other objectives include facilitating and strengthening the contribution of Islamic finance, green economy, blue economy, and industrial transformation to the national economy, as well as developing internationally competitive capital markets, financial technology, digital finance, and financial market infrastructure. To achieve these goals, the government and the DPR agreed that the PFII Bill focuses on several key regulatory points, including the establishment, status, and objectives of the PFII, along with the authority for its designation and institutional framework. The bill also regulates business activities within the PFII, covering the financial sector, supporting business activities, and other sectoral activities within the PFII area. Institutional arrangements include the formation of a PFII Advisory Board, PFII Board, PFII Management Agency, and PFII Financial Services Supervisory Agency, as well as the establishment of a PFII Arbitration Institution as an alternative dispute resolution body and a PFII Court. Purbaya explained that the bill also includes tax facilities and other special facilities to attract investment. Tax facilities include income tax, value-added tax, and/or sales tax on luxury goods, as well as customs facilities. Other special facilities include golden visas, immigration, employment, licensing, and residency. The bill also contains specific provisions, such as the use of the English language, conducting business activities in foreign currencies, and the application of legal principles that may adopt, incorporate, or adapt jurisprudence, international commercial law, international financial centre practices, and international standards, as well as propriety and fairness. “On behalf of the government, we accept the results of the deliberation on the Bill at the working committee level as the basis for decision-making in today’s first-level discussion,” Purbaya said.