JAKARTA, July 21 — Indonesia's Parliament has passed a law to enable the foundation of international financial centres designed to boost foreign investment and economic growth.
All parties in the House of Representatives passed the law by acclamation, led by House Speaker Puan Maharani.
Southeast Asia's largest economy has long sought to develop its financial sector by creating investment products capable of attracting greater foreign capital inflows, with the government pursuing an ambitious target to raise growth to eight per cent by 2029.
The full text of the law was not immediately made available to the public following today's approval. However, authorities and lawmakers have indicated that it will offer a broad range of tax benefits to qualifying investors, modelled on the incentives provided by established financial hubs such as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The government has yet to determine the location of its first financial centre, which is projected to attract up to 500 trillion rupiah (RM114.1 billion) in investment. Officials have previously identified the holiday island of Bali as one potential site.
Following the enactment of the legislation, Jakarta will establish a supervisory board and a dedicated governmental body for the financial centres, both of which will report to the President and Parliament.
The government will also set up an arbitration body and a special court to handle and adjudicate disputes arising within the financial centres.
Tax incentives under the law include a 50-year tax holiday for investors that meet certain criteria, tax exemptions for income generated outside Indonesia, and selective value-added tax exemptions.
