Foreign Media Highlights Chinese Businessmen's Complaint Letter to Prabowo
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Global media outlet The Straits Times has highlighted the circulation of an open letter from Chinese investors affiliated with the China Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (CCCI) to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
The letter expresses profound concerns regarding regulatory uncertainties, aggressive rule enforcement, and allegations of extortion practices by certain domestic officials.
President Prabowo Subianto responded generally to complaints from foreign investors about Indonesia’s lengthy permitting bureaucracy. Prabowo confirmed that the government is preparing a special task force to carry out deregulation in order to eliminate bureaucratic barriers that trigger illicit levies.
“These issues have severely disrupted normal business operations, directly undermining long-term investment confidence, and causing widespread concern among Chinese investment companies regarding the current business environment and their future development in Indonesia,” the CCCI letter stated, as quoted from The Straits Times on Thursday (14/5/2026).
The letter pays particular attention to Indonesia’s nickel downstreaming industry, which is dominated by investments from the Bamboo Curtain country. Business actors have complained about sudden increases in royalty rates and changes to the nickel ore pricing formula, leading to significant swelling of smelter operational costs.
“The implementation of these sudden policies has caused a 200 percent surge in comprehensive nickel ore costs. As the largest investors and operators in Indonesia’s nickel industry, Chinese investment companies now face sharp increases in production costs, widening operational losses, and imbalances across the entire industrial chain,” the letter continued.
In addition to cost issues, Chinese investors have highlighted the drastic reduction in this year’s nickel ore mining quota (RKAB), which is said to reach 30 million tonnes. This quota cut, exceeding 70 percent for major mines, is deemed to disrupt the sustainability of downstream industry development in Indonesia.
Prabowo acknowledged that many officials exploit regulations for personal gain by demanding certain rewards from entrepreneurs. “Regulations tend to be bureaucratic initiatives, frankly, to seek opportunities. Some will ask for commissions, ask for money to expedite permit issuance,” Prabowo said.
On the other hand, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa responded to the circulating complaints with a firmer stance on national policy sovereignty. “Indonesia has its own economic policies. If foreign companies want to leave, let them leave,” Purbaya stated.
Purbaya added that several of the complained-about policies, including the increase in mineral royalties, are currently under review by the government. He signalled that certain exceptions might be applied in those regulations, though technical details could not yet be disclosed further.
Monitoring measures for foreigners in strategic industrial areas have also thickened investor concerns, including issues with operational oversight of private airports in nickel industrial zones. Several recent incidents are considered confusing signals (mixed signals) for global investors regarding the direction of investment policies in the country.