The investment board of Indonesia has estimated that the country needs US$249.33 billion of investment from both domestic and foreign investors to achieve its target of 7% annual growth. But Darmin Nasution, the country’s chief economic minister, has said that 160 regulations have been identified as holding back or blocking these needed investments.

 

Political infighting, red tape, and deep-seated corruption have thwarted significant policy reforms, but on September 2, Indonesia’s government vowed to achieve rapid and ‘massive deregulation’ in agriculture, trade, and manufacturing to enable the free inflow of the much-needed capital investment.

 

"We need to carry out massive deregulation and introduce new regulations that will really create a good climate for the economy as soon as possible," Reuters reports Widodo said in a cabinet meeting. "We are racing against time."

 

The president and cabinet are planning to meet in ‘marathon meetings’ within the coming days to review and reform all regulations identified as blocking investment, and to build a stimulus package that will include a new import policy for beef and tax holidays.

 

"I want there to be revisions to laws that hinder anything, be it goods, services procurement or the investment climate," said Indonesian president, Joko Widodo.