Senior Vice President of US Chamber of Commerce for Asia Charles Freeman in the 2018 Indonesia Investment Summit here on Thursday remarked that the great investment opportunity in Indonesia was driven by regulatory reform carried out by President Joko Widodo.
Freeman stated in a report released on Thursday by the US Chamber of Commerce and American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) that Indonesia`s business climate is moving in a better direction.
He said the government put the focus correctly by reducing regulations to encourage new investment opportunities.
But unfortunately, he added that many of these opportunities will not be realized if the government does not move as quickly as possible to create a more friendly environment for foreign investment by creating legal certainty.
The report highlighted President Widodo`s focus on infrastructure development, and discussed matters that have hampered it, such as budget problems, dependence on SOEs, licensing issues, and licensing and land acquisition that hinder the projects that have actually been financially feasible.
"We are impressed by the openness of the Widodo`s government to have a dialogue with the private sector and find solutions to regulatory problems," said AmCham Indonesia Managing Director Lin Neumann.
But he added that there were important sectors in which he thought foreign investment could play more roles, but were still constrained by regulations.
It was also mentioned in the report that there have been substantial improvements in access to health services and education reforms that have helped poor students stay in school during the period of President Widodo.
Continuing education reform is very important for Indonesia to develop a workforce that is ready to face the 21st century economy. *** 3 ***
Reporting by Azis Kurmala
Editing by Otniel, Eliswan
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
