Foreign investment restrictions in Indonesia

In addition to PR 39, the laws and regulations governing the conduct of a certain line of business must be reviewed to determine whether that line of business is open to foreign investment and, if so, whether a limited liability company (Perseroan Terbatas (PT)) with foreign ownership (PT PMA) established to conduct that line of business can be wholly foreign-owned or only partially foreign-owned. If a particular line of business is not listed in PR 39, then it is open to 100 percent foreign investment without condition.

The Negative Investment List also stipulates foreign ownership restrictions, for instance, the maximum foreign shareholding, the requirement to partner with a small or medium-scale enterprise and so on. In practice, investors still need to confirm with the Capital Investment Coordinating Board whether a certain line of business is open for 100 percent foreign investment without any condition. The Negative Investment List is organised by reference to the business activities described in the Indonesian business fields classification issued by Indonesia’s central statistics body. A PT PMA may have more than one business field classification number as its line of business unless the relevant laws and regulations provide otherwise.

Exchange control or currency regulations
There are no foreign exchange controls in Indonesia. The Indonesian rupiah is freely convertible into any currency and vice versa. However, Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 16/26/PBI/2014 regarding foreign currency transactions against the rupiah by banks with local parties prohibits the purchase of foreign exchange against the rupiah from the commercial banking system in Indonesia by any person in an amount in excess of US$100,000 per month in the absence of an underlying transaction. This regulation provides that Indonesian nationals and legal entities purchasing foreign currencies in excess of US$100,000 or the equivalent in the Indonesian banking system must provide certain documents to Bank Indonesia including the underlying transaction documentation.

The recently issued Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 17/3/PBI/2015 regarding Mandatory Use of Rupiah within the Republic of Indonesia (BI Reg. 17) stipulates the mandatory use of rupiah for:

• Transactions in Indonesia that are for the purpose of payment
• Transactions in Indonesia that are for the settlement of other obligations that must be fulfilled with money and other financial transactions in Indonesia

The obligation to use rupiah for the foregoing applies to cash transactions made as of March 31, 2015 and non-cash transaction made as of July 1, 2015. Certain transactions are exempted from the mandatory use of rupiah as set out under BI Reg. 17.

Restrictions on foreign ownership of real estate
Under Law No. 5 of 1960 regarding land, there are two categories of land title comprising a total of nine rights. The first broad category of land titles encompasses five primary titles derived directly from the state. These are:

• Right of ownership
• Right to cultivate
• Right to build
• Right to use
• Right to manage

The second broad category of land titles encompasses secondary titles, which are titles granted by holders of primary titles on the basis of private agreements, which consist of:

• Right to lease
• Right of share cropping
• Right to pledge land
• Right of lodging

A secondary title is obtained by an investor based on an agreement whereby a primary titleholder grants a legal interest or secondary title to another party.

An Indonesian individual is entitled to all primary titles as listed above. A PT PMA is entitled to a right to build or a right of title use. An individual foreigner is only entitled to a right of title use as long as he is a resident of Indonesia.