UU PFII a Momentum to Strengthen Indonesia's Economic Transformation

Paramadina University Rector Prof Didik J. Rachbini stated that the International Financial Centre Indonesia Law (UU PFII) is a good momentum to strengthen economic transformation through the development of modern, adaptive financial institutions capable of responding to global economic dynamics. “This law needs to be implemented and executed properly. Going forward, the regulatory drafting process must also be carefully prepared through public consultation and the involvement of experts so that its implementation becomes stronger,” said Prof Didik in Jakarta on Thursday. He assessed that Indonesia has great potential to develop an international financial centre as part of efforts to strengthen national economic competitiveness. According to him, the ratification of the UU PFII opens up opportunities for Indonesia to manage global financial activities that have so far been largely enjoyed by financial centres abroad. “I consider the initiative to establish an international financial centre a good step, but it must be designed far more carefully so that its economic benefits are truly maximised,” he said. Didik stated that these opportunities will be more optimal if the implementation of the UU PFII is carried out consistently, supported by good governance, legal certainty, and credible policies. Furthermore, Prof Didik hopes that the future process of forming strategic regulations will increasingly strengthen public participation and the involvement of experts to produce more robust policies. He emphasised that this view does not diminish his support for the existence of the PFII. According to him, Indonesia indeed deserves to have an international financial centre capable of supporting national economic development. “Indonesia truly deserves to have an international financial centre like this. The most important thing now is that this law is implemented consistently because the opportunities are enormous,” he said. Didik explained that Indonesia has a strong economic foundation to support the development of an international financial centre. Indonesia’s trade value currently reaches around 500 billion US dollars and is estimated to increase to around 600 to 700 billion US dollars in the near future. This large volume of trade activity is followed by high-value financial and service transactions. He added that so far, some of the benefits from international trade and service transactions, such as financing, insurance, logistics, and other financial services, are still largely enjoyed by financial institutions abroad. “Therefore, this opportunity indeed needs to be seized by the government so that the economic benefits from Indonesia’s trade activities can be increasingly managed domestically,” he said.