Indonesia eases foreign ownership rules for retail, port sectors

[JAKARTA] Indonesia has eased foreign ownership rules in the retail sector and port services as part of efforts to liberalise its economy, Southeast Asia's largest.

President Joko Widodo signed revised investment regulations, which spell out which sectors are partially closed or entirely closed to foreign investors, last week and it took effect immediately, according to a copy uploaded to a government website on Tuesday.

The government announced the revision to rules on foreign ownership - its so-called negative investment list - in February, saying it has decided to loosen restrictions on everything from restaurant to agriculture, transportation and movie theatres.

However, the new regulation set a 49 per cent foreign ownership cap on small e-commerce businesses, contradicting the government's earlier statement that it will open the sector 100 per cent to foreign money.

REUTERS