"By reducing a number of barriers to commerce, Indonesia has put itself on the right track," Steve Forbes said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The CEO of Americas Forbes Media, Steve Forbes, thinks that Indonesia is on the right economic track, thanks to the policies it is pursuing to deal with the tight competition in the global economy.
"By reducing a number of barriers to commerce, Indonesia has put itself on the right track," Steve Forbes said in an exclusive interview with ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.
The Indonesian government has indeed started to incrementally lower tariff barriers for a few commodities as part of the efforts to ensure that the country adjusts to the free market era.
Indonesia, according to Forbes, made changes in its economic policies, a move imperative for the countrys survival and competitiveness in the global economic race.
"The change is one of the reasons why we see in Indonesia a glimmer of hope, starting with the tax amnesty policy," he added, while hoping that the Indonesian government will continue to come up with beneficial changes and breakthroughs, for example, by taking steps to reduce the percentage of corporate tax.
"It is imperative to phase out outdated thinking patterns. The policies need to be evaluated and modified to align these to the global economic development," he remarked.
He further explained that such evaluation exercises are needed in order for Indonesia to make a necessary breakthrough to boost the countrys economic development.
"Such evaluation will help Indonesia to undertake innovations in a country that has a large population. Once that happens, it will serve as an excellent prototype for advancement," he reiterated.
President Joko Widodo had earlier declared his commitment to significantly reduce investment barriers to attract more foreign investments into the country.
He aims to cut down the number of bureaucrats to spur the entrance of foreign investments and improve infrastructure in Indonesia.
"Our State Budget (APBN) is very limited, which is why we need investments and investors to boost economic growth, to build harbors and airports," argued the president.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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