RI Preparing Sectors for Foreign Investors

VIVAnews - The government is preparing new sectors that foreign investors may invest in.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said on Wednesday, Jan. 28, that the government is updating the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) negative list of investment that will be discussed in the ASEAN Summit by the coming December.

"Therefore, the seventh phase meeting will attach various revisions of miscellaneous sectors on services which will be embedded in the agreement," she said.

Mulyani said every department will inspect whether or not there will be strategic offers that will be brought before the seventh-phase meeting.

"Such strategic sectors as communication, transportation, tourism, trading and education will be examined and [the decision will be] finalized within the next two weeks," she said.

With the additional sectors, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said she hoped investment will improve and provide more value to the national economy. "Therefore, we will offer sectors that may be owned by more than 51 percent," she added.

It is expected that with the modification, policies issued for certain sectors may run parallel with other strategic policies, which in the end could maintain the strategic interests, "taking into account matters on security. Therefore, there will be revisions and affirmation concerning the directives," she said. It is believed that the investment will significantly increase should the policies are assured.

Translated by: Bonardo Maulana Wahono