"President Joko Widodo discussed the banking problem with Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad Najib Razak during their meeting," Indonesian Chief Economic Minister Sofjan Djalil said on Saturday.
Sofyan said the President had made his Malaysian counterpart aware of the complaints received from the Indonesian banks and Financial Service Authority (OJK).
"For example, Malaysias Maybank can open a branch office in Indonesia, but Indonesian banks face difficulty when they wish to open their branches in Malaysia," the Minister stated.
He added that the Malaysian PM had given a positive response during a discussion on the matter. "They offered assistance to facilitate the opening of branches in Malaysia for Indonesian banks," Sofyan added.
Malaysia is also interested in investing in various sectors in Indonesia, such as toll roads and electricity plants in Indonesia, the Minister said.
"They will invest in those sectors. In the coming two weeks, they will discuss it with the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), state-owned power company PLN and others. They basically hope to reciprocate their good intentions through investment," Sofyan noted.
Regarding the plan of Proton to invest in the automotive industry in Indonesia, the Chief Economic Minister said the plan will be based on a business-to-business scheme.
"There is a plan to expand the business or develop a factory in Indonesia, but it is still in the initial stages and needs to be followed up with a feasibility study," he remarked.
He said the car market in Indonesia is competitive because of which Proton is planning to expand its business in Indonesia.
Sofyan pointed out that up till now, the BKPM has not issued an investment permit to Proton, which intends to make Indonesia its production base.
"There is a memorandum of understanding between private entities, which will be followed up with a feasibility study," he added.
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Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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