Indonesia's Financial Hub Law to Cover Stocks, Forex, Carbon Exchange, and Digital Assets
The House of Representatives (DPR) officially passed the bill on the Indonesia International Financial Centre (RUU PFII) into law during a plenary session on Tuesday (21/7/2026).
The enactment provides the legal foundation for establishing an international financial centre in Indonesia, which is expected to attract investment flows and strengthen the competitiveness of the national financial sector globally.
The PFII law opens the door to a wide range of financial market products and transactions, spanning shares, bonds, foreign exchange, commodities, investment management, and even derivatives and digital assets.
The most comprehensive provisions are found in Article 70, on pages 42-43. This article serves as the basis for businesses registered in the PFII to trade assets, manage investments, carry out derivative transactions, and obtain loan facilities related to those transactions.
Shares, Bonds and Forex as Underlying Assets
Article 70 paragraph (1) lists shares, bonds, interest rates, credit, commodities and foreign exchange as underlying assets.
The PFII Financial Services Supervisory Agency (LPJK) may also designate other types of underlying assets through its own regulations.
These underlying assets may be traded both inside and outside the PFII.
The forms of transactions may include the purchase and sale of underlying assets, investment management contracts, derivative transactions, loan facilities related to transactions, and other financial transactions designated by the LPJK PFII.
The list is not closed. Article 70 uses the phrasing “other underlying assets”, “other types of products”, and “other mechanisms”, giving the LPJK PFII room to develop new products and transactions through implementing regulations.
ETFs and Derivatives Also Opened Up
The draft PFII bill mentions collective investment contracts or commingled funds, segregated management contracts or segregated mandates, and exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Generally, a commingled fund is a scheme that pools funds from several investors into a single portfolio, while a segregated mandate is used to manage an investor’s funds separately according to a specific mandate.
However, the draft only mentions the terms and does not yet provide specific definitions.
For derivatives, Article 70 paragraph (5) mentions futures, forwards, swaps and options. These products may be linked to shares, bonds, interest rates, credit, commodities, foreign exchange, or other underlying assets.
Transactions may be conducted through exchange-traded mechanisms or over-the-counter (OTC) markets. Other transaction mechanisms may also be established through LPJK PFII regulations.
The draft does not yet explain in detail the provisions on margins, collateral, position reporting, contract valuation, or the handling of defaults in derivative transactions.
Digital assets are also explicitly mentioned in Article 70 paragraph (7). However, the terms crypto, crypto assets, cryptocurrency and token are nowhere to be found. As such, digital assets in the draft cannot automatically be interpreted as covering all crypto products.
Carbon Exchange to Money Markets
The scope of the financial market is not limited to Article 70. Article 5, on pages 6-7, includes capital markets, derivative finance, the carbon exchange, international commodities trading or exchanges, bullion, financial instrument management, money markets, foreign exchange markets and investment management as PFII business activities.
The ecosystem also encompasses banking, insurance, Islamic finance, pension funds, financing, venture capital, financial sector technology innovation, guarantees, the management of trust funds, and family offices.
Article 7 also allows businesses to form special purpose vehicles. However, under that provision an SPV is a form or structure that businesses may use, rather than a type of product or financial market transaction.
The carbon exchange receives particular attention. The PFII Board is asked to consider the zone as a global centre of financial excellence for energy transition financing, climate financing and a global carbon exchange.
LPJK PFII Becomes the Main Regulator
The regulation and supervision of financial activities in the zone will fall under the LPJK PFII. Under Article 31, the agency is authorised to issue and revoke licences, conduct supervision and examinations, request information, implement consumer protection, and impose administrative sanctions.
The LPJK PFII is also tasked with maintaining the stability of the financial system within the PFII. The article’s explanatory notes state that this task includes, among other things, efforts to reduce systemic risk and to address financial institution problems quickly and in a contained manner.
In exercising its authority, the LPJK PFII may coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, Bank Indonesia, the OJK, the LPS, the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the Financial Transactions Reporting and Analysis Centre (PPATK), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Main Transactions to Use Foreign Exchange
Article 69, on pages 41-42, stipulates that business activities in the PFII are essentially conducted in foreign exchange. The rupiah may only be used for supporting operational transactions and day-to-day activities.
Businesses are guaranteed the ability to transfer and repatriate foreign exchange, capital, funds, profits, dividends, interest, profit-sharing, investment returns, assets and other payments without delay.
Foreign exchange controls, capital controls, restrictions on fund transfers, and obligations for approval and conversion based on regulations outside the PFII in principle do not apply to activities within, from, or through the PFII. Nevertheless, the PFII Board may still establish other provisions.
All activities remain subject to anti-money laundering rules, counter-terrorism financing, beneficial ownership transparency, taxation, and information exchange under international agreements.
Access to the Domestic Market Restricted
The freedom to transact in the PFII does not automatically grant full access to the Indonesian public. Businesses are prohibited from raising deposits from the public outside the PFII within Indonesian territory.
The sale of financial products to the public outside the PFII also requires approval from the relevant authorities. The opening of rupiah accounts and the provision of loans to areas of Indonesia outside the PFII are likewise restricted, although certain exemptions are available for foreign exchange loans.
Licences issued by PFII institutions do not automatically apply to conducting business outside the zone. However, cross-border activities from the PFII may still be carried out as long as they comply with PFII rules and relevant national provisions.
A Number of Provisions Not Yet Detailed
The explanation of Article 5 includes financial market infrastructure as other financial sector business activities. However, the draft does not yet elaborate on the institutions and operational processes that will support those transactions.