Foreigners barred from multimedia services
Foreigners barred from multimedia services
JAKARTA (JP): Executives of Indonesia's nascent Internet
industry woke up Friday with the shocking news that the
government has barred foreign investors from the multimedia
services.
An official of the Office of the Minister of Investment and
State Enterprises confirmed the existence of the Presidential
Decree (Kepres) No. 96/2000 which provides a new list of areas
where foreign investment is either barred or limited.
Multimedia services is one new area included in the list,
Saeful Munajat, a spokesman for the office, said quoting the
the decree, which was signed on July 20.
Saeful, whose office is preparing guidelines to implement the
decree, said foreign investors already operating in Indonesia
would be exempted from the new ruling.
"I don't think they have to withdraw, because the decree
doesn't say so. Besides, they made those deals before the decree
was made," he said.
Anwar Suprijadi, secretary general of Ministry of
Communication, said restrictions on foreign ownership in the
telecommunications industry are aimed at empowering local
companies.
"I think the policy is intended to prepare local entrepreneurs
to compete globally," Anwar was quoted by Antara as saying.
News of the Kepres, first reported by Bisnis Indonesia daily,
was the subject of much speculation among Internet executives all
day in the absence of any official explanation about the fate of
existing foreign Internet companies.
Many big Internet portal services in Indonesia, including
Astaga.com and Detik.com, have been built using foreign venture
funds over the past year. Until the issuance of the Kepres, the
Internet industry was not subject to any government regulation.
Andrew Hayek, chief executive of Astaga.com and parent PT
Indonesia Online, said he didn't believe the ban would apply to
Internet service companies. "So far there is nothing addressed
with the Internet," he told Dow Jones.
An executive at another Internet start-up company currently
scouting for funding said any ban on foreign investment would
force operators to set up shop in Singapore or Malaysia, which he
said would cost Indonesia jobs and hold back the sector.
"The only real investment in information technology and
Internet is coming from outside," he said. (cst/emb)