Government Revises Investment Rules, Denies Link to Indonesia-US Trade Agreement

Bisnis.com, JAKARTA — The government has rejected claims that the revision of the Presidential Regulation on Investment in the Field of Investment (Perpres Bidang Usaha Penanaman Modal) is an outgrowth of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between Indonesia and the United States (US).

The revision is intended to open up more opportunities for private sector to develop sectors that were previously closed or tightly restricted.

The plan to revise was first publicly disclosed by Deputy I of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ferry Irawan, at the Launch of Financial Stability Study Book No. 46 by Bank Indonesia on Friday (27 February 2026).

Interestingly, in another development, the RI–US trade pact also governs market liberalisation for US companies looking to invest in Indonesia. For example, Article 2.28 in the ART document, which requires Indonesia to permit foreign investment by US investors without ownership limits.

The sectors exempted from these restrictions include mining, fish processing, environment-based development projects, ecosystem services, resource efficiency solutions, publishing, courier services, land transport, broadcasting, and financial services.

Nonetheless, Ferry said that the revision of the Presidential Regulation on the Field of Investment is not related to the RI–US ART agreement. ‘[The] revision of the Perpres was drafted before ART existed,’ Ferry told Bisnis on Wednesday (4 March 2026).

Regarding which sectors will have access opened to private operators, Ferry admitted he could not disclose details. He only disclosed that the target completion is in the second half of this year. ‘Details will follow after the Perpres is issued; it should be finished in the second semester,’ he said.

Earlier, he stated that the regulatory liberalisation move is one of the government’s strategic initiatives to boost investment in the country. ‘We are also revising the Perpres on the fields of investment. In this Perpres we will open up more opportunities for business players to enter certain sectors. We also hope this will be a strong push for investment,’ he said at the Launch of the Financial Stability Study No. 46, Friday (27 February 2026).